Ice in the Leaf
by Tenshi Namikaze
Summary: Haku was not alone. Two ice users were left from the purge. One is dead, and the other lives in fire--Hyouton Naruto! NaruHina LeeOC
1. Search for the Bikochu

_**This is just something I came up with and I wondered how well it would work out. Don't expect this one to update fast as I am concentrating on A Second Chance**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I own this story and how bad-ass it hopefully becomes =D**_

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_**Chapter 1: The Search for the Bikochu**_

"I believe that we should set up camp here" Shino said to the others

"What? It's not even late. Why don't we keep going?" Naruto said back

Getting right in Naruto's face Shino says "Because I'm the leader of this mission. So you will do as I say"

"Okay okay. Don't need to get so angry about it"

"Come on Naruto, help me set up the tent, you too Hinata" Kiba said

"H-hai/Alright" came the reply

The tent was set up and everyone laid their sleeping bag down in a spot they wanted

Naruto lays down and says "I can't believe we have to go to sleep so early. I'm not even tired......(snore)"

Kiba looks at the now sleeping Naruto and says "After all his talk about not being tired he's the first one out. Typical Naruto"

_'That's what you think dog breath' _the 'sleeping' Naruto thought

In the back Hinata just smiles

xxxxx

In the dead of night someone awoke from their fake slumber and left the tent. Off to practice what had been hidden.

Hinata woke up not too long after and looked around the tent. Only to gasp as she noticed that Naruto was missing. Feeling the worst she gets dressed and leaves the tent and runs into the woods, hoping to find him.

Hinata had been constantly running when she suddenly heard the sound of something shattering. She goes to see if it's Naruto and stops before a clearing where she saw a dark figure in the middle of the clearing.

She could not see who it was but she could tell that it meant no harm, since it looked like it was practicing something.

The figure performed a leg sweep and Hinata was amazed to see a thin sheet of ice come out of it's leg and basically hover in the air. The figure turned back around and uppercut-ted the sheet of ice, shattering it into a million pieces that floated to the ground reflecting moonlight as they fell.

The figure never stopped its movements and more ice was made and shattered upon impact. Hinata was just watching, glued to her spot in sheer awe of what she was seeing.

The figure then stopped its practicing, it did a single back-flip and a large ball of ice was propelled from its foot. The ball flew back straight down back to the figure, while the figure itself spun once and punched the ice ball, shattering it into millions of pieces that fell around it and reflected the moonlight all around it.

Since the figure was done with its 'dance' Hinata snapped out of it and remembered that Naruto was missing. She walked forward to try to catch a glimpse of the figure, but she in-turn stepped on a twig, snapping it.

The figure looked up in a start, looked at her, and exploded into ice, as if it was never real in the first place.

Looking around with her Byakugan Hinata could not find the figure or Naruto near by. Hoping that Naruto would return safely she walked back to the tent. As she was about to enter the tent Naruto walked out of some bushes next to the tent

Looking at Hinata Naruto asks "Why are you up so late Hinata?"

Blushing slightly at the sight of her crush in pajamas she says back "I w-was looking f-f-for you N-n-naruto-kun. W-w-what happened?"

Chuckling a bit Naruto says "I'm fine Hinata. Nature just called me"

Understanding what he said and blushing more Hinata says "O-o-okay then. W-w-well, o-o-oyasumi N-n-naruto-kun"

Giving a fox like smile Naruto says back "Oyasumi Hinata"

They walk into the tent and lay back down, neither disturbing the other two occupants of the tent who were fast asleep

xxxxx

(yawn)

"Hey Hinata, are you alright?" Kiba asked

"I-i-i'm fine. J-j-just a b-bit tired"

"Didn't you get enough sleep?" Shino asked

"I-i-i woke up i-i-in the m-middle of t-the night t-to..."

(YAWN!) (POP) "Ow... that was my arm"

"You too Naruto? Why are you tired? Did you wake up in the middle of the night too?" Kiba asked

"Yea I did, but nature called me and I couldn't ignore it"

"I don't believe we needed to know that much Naruto"

"Hey don't blame me. He asked. By the way Shino, how close are we to the spot where the bikochu is?"

"We are here Naruto" Shino replied back

"Really? Cool let me see"

Naruto walks forward only to stop ,look down, and yell "It's down there?!?!"

Hinata and Kiba run up to Naruto and they go wide eyed while Shino calmly walks towards them. In front of them was a one hundred to one hundred fifty foot cliff that went down into an acre by acre crater covered by forest

Looking at Shino Kiba asks "We really need to go down there Shino?"

"Hai, that's where the bikochu beetle lives" Shino replied back

"It's a-a-along way d-down" Hinata says still looking over the cliff

"Well then, we had better get started" Naruto says to the others as he jumps over the cliff

"Naruto-kun!!!" Hinata screams in fear for her love

They hear a distant "What?" and look over the cliff to see Naruto walking parallel and on the cliff

"I believe that works" Shino says as he too walks down the cliff

xxxxx

The team got to the bottom of the cliff and were now walking through the forest looking for a place to meet up at if they separate. The four continue walking and pass a boulder that was laying behind some trees. After they pass by three pairs of eyes appear on the boulder and three Iwa nin step out of their camouflage and look at the four Konoha genin.

"They must be here for the same reason we are" One with a deep voice said "What do you think Jibachi?"

"They must be" The one known an Jibachi said back "To come here at this time must means that hey are looking or a bikochu beetle"

A woman walked in front of them and said "We must beat them to the beetle. The fate of the Kamizuru clan depends on us. Jibachi, Kurobachi, let's just watch them and see what happens"

"Hai Suzumebachi" Came the reply

xxxxx

The four genin stopped in the middle of the forest where a gigantic tree lay and decided that the tree was their meeting spot. Naruto, Hinata and Kiba looked at Shino waiting for him to tell them what to look for.

"The bikochu looks like this" Shino said pulling out a photo of an elephant trunk-ed beetle. "We meet back here at sundown. Let's go search" With that the four genin split up

xxxxx

Shino stopped in front of a fallen tree and placed his hand on the trunk of the tree and said

"_**Insect Summoning Jutsu**_"

Insects of all kinds and shapes appeared in front of him. Shino looked at the bugs that came and shook his head.

"It's not here" He said as he released the insects

Shino walked away from the fallen tree and passed by a boulder. As he came to the front of it his kikaichu insects started to act up, signaling that there were enemies hiding in the boulder. However Shino just kept walking away as the three Iwa nin looked on.

xxxxx

Kiba and Akamaru were on a high tree looking and smelling around for the beetle

"Where could this dang thing be?" Kiba asked himself

Akamaru suddenly started barking. Kiba, following what Akamaru smelled the three Iwa nin's and grinned

Looking at Akamaru Kiba said "Good catch buddy. We had better go tell Shino about this"

Akamaru just barked as they jumped away to meet up back at the meeting spot to tell of his findings

xxxxx

Hinata was in the middle of the forest watching as tons of different butterflies flew around her. In the middle of her relaxation she remembers what her father had said to her before the mission

_xxx Flashback xxx_

"_Hinata"_

_Hinata looked up and saw her father above her_

"_H-hai tou-san?"_

"_You are late for your training, now come along" Hiashi said_

"_B-b-but I have a-a-a mission"_

"_A mission you say? Very well then" Hiashi turns and walks away, but not before saying "try not to be a burden to your team"_

_Trying not to cry Hinata says a shaky "H-h-hai" and runs out of the compound_

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx _

_'That's true. I recommended this mission. So I must play my part'_ Hinata thought

"_**Byakugan**_"

Hinata looks around with her Byakugan and notices that her eyes cannot see any insects

_'They must be too small for me to notice...Wait...what is that?'_

Hinata notices the chakra's of the three Iwa ninjas. She gasps and deactivates her eyes and runs back to the meeting spot to see if any of the others had noticed as well.

xxxxx

Naruto was jumping from tree to tree looking for the beetle. He stopped on high tree when he felt three new chakra signatures near by. Looking towards the new comers in the corner of his eye he wondered what he should do with them. Knowing that he couldn't fight them in danger of killing the beetle he decided something different. He jumped from tree to tree until he was right above them. Knowing that they were looking at him he made his move. Naruto moved so fast that all the three Iwa nin's saw was Naruto's right pointer finger twitch. Naruto then jumped away to the meeting spot. Unknown to the three Iwa nin's there was a very small patch of ice on their sandals.

xxxxx

Naruto just arrived at the tree/meeting spot where the other three genin's were waiting for him.

Kiba looked at Naruto and said "Apparently you were the only one to not notice"

Tilting his head to the side Naruto asks "What didn't I notice?"

"We have unwanted company here in the forest"

"What seriously? How could I have not noticed?"

"Because your an idiot that's why!" Kiba yelled to Naruto's shocked face

Naruto's face and body said that he was shocked, but Hinata looked further...into his eyes, and saw that he was not even mildly surprised, like he knew the enemy nin's were there from the start.

_'Naruto-kun is...lying? Why would he lie about something like this?'_ Hinata thought

"S-s-so what d-do we d-do Shino?" Hinata asked

"We continue like normal. If they attack us then we fight back. However we are done for today. We will continue in the morning"

"Hai" Came the reply from the other three as they all picked a sleeping spot on the tree

xxxxx

Hinata woke up late at night once again. She looked at her team and noticed that this time everyone was still asleep. Figuring that this was the perfect time to train she gathers up her training cloths and runs to a waterfall near by. What she didn't notice was that once she left, the sleeping Naruto vanish in a cloud of smoke showing that it was a shadow clone.

Hinata was training in the middle of a river with a waterfall behind her. She had secretly taken up elemental manipulation for water and practiced it while on missions since her clan looked down upon anything besides the Jyuuken. Because of her secret training she thought of making a new Jyuuken jutsu, but had yet to master it.

Hinata was in the middle of her water manipulation when she heard someone snap their fingers. Out of no where the water droplets that were in the air solidified into ice and fell, only to shatter when they hit the ground. Hinata looked to the top of the waterfall only to see the same figure from the other night sitting on the waterfall chuckling. She still could only see the outline of the figure while the rest of it was hidden in the night. The figure stood up and looked at Hinata, then kicked its foot on the water and made a medium sized ball of water shoot over the waterfall straight towards Hinata. Hinata stood in the Jyuuken stance ready to defend herself from the falling water but stopped when she noticed what was happening.

The ball of water solidified into ice and looked like it was carving itself into a shape. Pieces of ice fell off off the ball and Hinata caught whatever was left. Hinata looked at what the ball turned into, only to see an Ice rose resting in her hands. She saw that it had chakra in it so it wouldn't melt and wondered why the figure would give her something like this. She looked up to question the strange person, only to find him gone. She looked around, only to find that the figure vanished as it did last time. Walking over to her coat she placed the rose in the pocket and thought

_'Who was that? And why was that person so interested in me? There are so many strange things going on here. First Naruto-kun goes missing, only for me to find this ice user. He comes back saying that he needed to go. Next he isn't surprised when Kiba said_ _that there were enemy ninja nearby. Could that ice user be Naruto-kun? I need to find out the truth about him'_

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_**Authors notes: **Yes I started a new story but I am going to be concentrating on my best story A Second Chance. I made this story because I noticed that out of all of the fanfics out there there are none that make the HaruHina waterfall the other way around so Hinata is watching Naruto instead. I also noticed that while Haku's bloodline is used for naruto in fanfics, it is used with more than one bloodline or sub element like wood, crystal, lava or metal. I have never read one where Naruto controls only Ice and it wasn't a Bleach/Naruto crossover. So I wanted to see how that would work out and here it is. I hope you all Like it and a new chapter of A Second Chance will be out soon._

_One question though. Do you think I should add my OC Tenshi to this story? If he is he will still be with Tenten  
_

_Until then R&R please!_

_Tenshi Namikaze _


	2. Found and Captured

Days had passed and none of the four genin had found a bikochu.

Days had passed and the three Iwa nin were still watching and waiting.

Days had passed and no matter what she did. Hinata could not capture or figure out who the mysterious figure was.

The morning of a new day came and Naruto just opened his eyes. Looking around he sees Shino and Kiba standing right next to each other looking out into the shy.

Confused Naruto asked, "Whats up guys?"

Without looking back Shino says, "The air pressure changed. Which means the weather is shifting"

Akamaru barked and Kiba looked down at the puppy and said "I felt it too. There's a breeze now and it's getting more humid. No doubt, it's about to rain"

Putting on his shirt Naruto says " That's strange. It looks so nice out"

"No. It's n-not. There are c-clouds off in t-the distance"

Looking at the source of the voice Naruto says "Hinata" as they all jump down from the tree

Shino then says, "We need to find the bikochu fast. You see, the bikochu only lay they're eggs when it rains. They mature quickly, and the next morning, the larvae emerge from the egg"

Kiba frown and says "In other words. If it rains today they will be fully grown by tomorrow"

Nodding Shino says "It's the end of the season, this may be our last chance. If we let it slip through our fingers, it won't be possible to search for Sasuke"

Looking at Sasuke's scratched headband Naruto says "That can't happen. We can do it. We will find one of those bugs no matter what"

"Then we had best begin searching" Shino said after

"Hai" came the reply

xxxxx

Hours had passed and still no luck finding the beetle. Shino was walking around summoning insects in hope that one of them is a bikochu. Kiba and Akamaru were sniffing around, trying to get the beetles scent. Hinata was trying to use her Byakugan to search for the bug and Naruto was jumping from tree to tree looking around.

Looking up at the now densely clouded sky Naruto says, "Come on. Don't rain, don't start raining now" He then jumps to the ground and continues searching

Hinata watches him as she runs around l desperately searching for the beetle.

She closes her eyes and says "Oh Naruto"

Unknown to Hinata the three Iwa nin's were watching from behind a boulder.

Kurobachi looks back and says "Suzumebachi, what are we going to do if they don't find a bikochu beetle?"

Suzumebachi looks on and says "Remember, the Aburame clan is the reason for the downfall of our proud Kamizuru clan"

The other two's eyes widen as Suzumebachi grins and thinks _'We will finally get revenge for our clan, by killing an Aburame!'_

Meanwhile Kiba and Shino were also looking into the cloud filled sky when Kiba worriedly said,

"Those tag-along's, I'm worried they still haven't made a move on us"

Shino said back "They must have figured out we are after the bikochu. Which means that they are just keeping their distance, waiting for us to find one"

"Oh I get it. So their plan is to wait until we discover one then steal it from us. They should find their own beetle" Kiba said back

Akamaru suddenly flinched as a drop of water hit his nose. Kiba and Shino look up at the sky to now see it raining

Hinata feels the drops and looks up as well

"The rain" She said

Naruto was still running from tree to tree, searching for the beetle

Looking up at the rain he says "I thought I told you not to rain yet Damn it!" He runs off, continuing the search as Hinata walks slowly behind him, silently crying

_'We have run out of time' _She thought as she once again remembered her fathers harsh words

_xxx Flashback no Jutsu xxx_

"_try not to be a burden to your team"_

_Trying not to cry Hinata says a shaky "H-h-hai" and runs out of the compound_

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx_

Now crying more Hinata thought _'It's true, I didn't do anything to help them' _

Her thoughts stop as she hears Naruto say "Come on, there's still a chance"

She looks up and sees Naruto still looking for the bikochu, even thought time is up.

She kept looking at him as the his voice echoed through her mind

"_I won't go back on my word. That's my ninja way and I'm sticking to it!"_

Wiping her tears away she looks up determined while thinking _'He's right. The mission was my idea so I'm responsible. If Naruto-kun isn't giving up yet then neither am I!'_

"Hinata"

Hinata looks to her side and sees Shino standing behind her

"The rain. It might actually be to your advantage"

Looking at Shino in confusion Hinata asks "What do you mean Shino?"

Shino replies by saying "Think about it. When the surrounding temperature cools, it's easier to see the heat signatures of living creatures"

Hinata's eyes widen as she sees what Shino was saying. She stands in the middle of a clearing focusing her chakra and thought,

_'Thank you Naruto-kun. I'm not giving up either' _"Byakugan!" She cried out

Her 359 vision activates and she looks around to see Naruto still searching

_'Focus. Concentrate more'_ She thought

The mammals and birds of the forest were now in her sight

_'I have to control my chakra more. Smaller..smaller'_

Small creatures of all sizes were now in her focused view

_'Yes. I can see them. Now let's see...no...not that one...that one's wrong too...wait...what's that? Is it? There it is!'_

Deactivating her eyes she points to where the beetle is ans shouts "Naruto-kun look! On the side of that tree, it's a bikochu!"

Looking back to see where Hinata was pointing, and then looking to the spot she indicated, he sees the bikochu beetle as it starts to fly off.

Jumping from tree to tree he tries to catch the elusive beetle. The beetle keeps flying around, only too see Naruto's hands in front of it. Naruto jumps down to0 the ground and holds the firmly secured beetle above his head

"Alright I got it!" He yells as Hinata sighs in relief

xxxxx

Akamaru barks as Shino inspects the beetle inside of a plastic holder.

"There's no mistake. It's a female bikochu"

_'Now would be a good excuse'_ Naruto secretly thought and started cheering as Kiba says "Wow. For a moment there I actually thought we weren't going to make it"

Hinata smiles and says "I'm proud of you Naruto-kun"

_'Right now!' _"Thanks Hinata thanks!. It's all because of you!" Naruto says as he gives her a long lip to lip kiss.

_'N-naruto-kun..is..KISSING ME!'_

The moment gets ruined by Akamaru as he starts barking at the container with the beetle in it. Catching the now unconscious Hinata bridal style in his arms, Naruto walks over to the container, looks in and sees an egg next to the beetle.

Kiba sees the egg and yells "Alright it's an egg!"

Shino too looks and calmly says "She spawned. A new beetle will emerge tomorrow"

"And after that we can train it to track down Sasuke" Naruto said as he looked down at the smiling form of Hinata snuggled up against him.

xxxxx

The three Kamizuru's look on as Suzumebachi speaks

"It looks like they finally found one"

"Meaning the time had come" Jibachi said next

"Let's go" Kurobachi said last

xxxxx

Naruto was standing by a river looking out into the sunset.

_'It may have been risky to just plain out kiss Hinata-chan like that, but it was most definitely worth every moment of it._

"**So what are you going to do next?"**

_'Maybe I should just take It slow and make it look spontaneous like that one did. Most of the village still hates me so I can't risk it by suddenly going out with Hina-chan'_

"**True, but you know that eventually she may give up on you"**

_'I doubt that will ever happen. However, if it seems like she is giving up, then I will tell her the truth. I still don't know how she would react when she learns of you'_

"**Don't worry kit. If anything she would probably hold you close and never want to leave your side ever again. Not even for the shortest times"**

_'Maybe. I won't know until then. Thanks for the help though kaa-san"_

"**No problem kit"** Kyuubi said as the connection was severed

Naruto looked up just in time to see two kunai heading straight for him. Waving his hand towards them the kunai suddenly go off course and crash into the running water.

"Nice, you were able to dodge my kunai" Kurobachi said as him and the other two Kamizuru's stepped out into the open

"Pretty good for a genin" Jibachi said next

Naruto pulled out his own kunai and held it ready to attack

_'These are the three that have been following us this whole time. What do I do? I don't want to give away my strength but if I don't I would possibly lose. No, team 8 needs to be tested. Just like Tsunade-sama said'_

_xxx Flashback no Jutsu xxx_

"_Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. You along with Naruto Uzumaki will go in search of a bikochu"_

"_What you mean Naruto's coming with us?! He'll only slow us down!"_

"_You will follow my orders Kiba and I say Naruto goes!"_

_Sighing Kiba says "Hai Hokage-sama"_

"_You will leave in two hours so get going"_

"_Hai" came the reply_

_As the door closed Naruto walked out from his hiding spot and stood in front of Tsunade_

_Looking at Naruto Tsunade says "Naruto Namikaze. Your mission is too test team 8 to the fullest of their abilities. I trust you will complete this mission"_

"_Hai Tsunade-sama" Naruto said back calmly while walking to the door_

"_Furthermore. If you wish to reveal your bloodline to Hinata and/or the others then you have my permission" Tsunade said before he left_

_Naruto stops, looks back at Tsunade and says "Maybe...just maybe" and left to get ready_

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx_

_'I will not fight back. If team 8 cannot save me with or without the beetle then they fail. I Don't have to worry though. They will pass'_

"It may be impressive, but let's see if you can evade this! **_Kamizuru Art: Honey Bee Jutsu" _**Suzumabachi said as tons and tons of bees emerge from out of nowhere.

Naruto's eyes widen as he swings his kunai at the seemingly endless horde of bees. He cuts a few, but then realizes that he can't move because of a strange sticky substance coming from the bees when they were cut.

"So you noticed huh? My special honey. You can't escape it's far to strong!" Suzumebachi says as Naruto falls to the ground, covered in honey.

Suzumebachi smirks and sends a single bee to Naruto which stings him in the neck.

Naruto starts to feel drowsy and sees Suzumebachi smirk wider and say "I'm afraid that that bee has quite the sting"

The last thing Naruto thought before passing out was _'They...will...pass'_

xxxxx

Walking down a path team 8 looks around for their missing comrade. Kiba and Akamaru are using their noses for a scent. Shino uses his Kikaichu to look around and Hinata was looking around with her Byakugan.

Kiba sighs and says to the others "It's just like him to get lost on us. Now we have to go out of our way to find him. I swear when we find him..."

Kiba's monologue was interrupted by a kunai flying right for his head. Shino and Hinata push him down in time as the Kunai implant itself into a tree. Shino notices a note attached to it and takes it off. Shino reads the note aloud:

_We are holding the blonde brat hostage. If you want to get him back safely you will trade him for the bikochu. Bring it to the top of the eastern hill at midnight_

"Darn it. I knew they would make a move" Kiba snarled

_'Naruto-kun. We will save you' _Hinata thought

xxxxx

Naruto was stuck to a honey comb type wall covered in the sticky honey. The three Iwa nin stood in front of him looking out into the coming night, smirking. If they were to look back however, they would noticed naruto had a small smirk on his face

_'You three have no clue what you have just gotten yourself into'_

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_**Authors notes: **Yes I changed it up again. So instead of Hinata getting caught like normal. Naruto get's caught instead. I know that there are most likely going to be parts you don't agree with so I will elaborate:._

_One: The face that Naruto sees Kyuubi as his kaa-san_

_I Know that this is kind of over used, but the only way for this story to work in my eyes is for Naruto to have been learning in secret, and what better way than from an ancient demon in your stomach. I also made Kyuubi a female because it gives the best possible excuse for her to teach him without a tyoe of deal between them_

_Two: The face that Naruto's secret mission is to test team 8 and that he knows his true name_

_I know that this is kind of screwed up, but like I said, I want to mix up this story from the usual ones. I also made it that he knows his true last name because, come on, He has a caring mother inside of his stomach, that and the fact that he's hiding behind a mask of stupidity, he is bound to either figure it out on his own, or Kyuubi would tell him the truth._

_On to another thing. I have a new pole up and this goes to all of my stories. I currently have three up that are not one-shots. So I wanted to know which one you wanted me to concentrate on. The story with the most votes will get the fastest updates while the second best gets slower updates and so on and so forth. So which will it be?_

_**Ice in the Leaf?**_

_**A Second Chance?**_

_**The With That Changes It All?**_

_**You choose!**_

_One last thing before the end though. It seems that my best friend **PandaChick105 **injured her leg on Friday and even had to go to the hospital. Panda is my close friend and she is an author of one story. Her story is mainly LeeOC but it had a side pairing of NaruHina. I currently am also helping her write it so you may see my writing style in her works. However it will be rarely._

_So the point is. Let's all wish her a speedy recovery!_

_**Feel better Soon Panda-chan! =3**_

_Until next time_

_Tenshi Namikaze _


	3. The Exchange

Team 8 minus Naruto were running through the bikochu forest at sunset, The team was tracking the enemy and trying to find Naruto by his scent.. Kiba was visibly angry, while Hinata was extremely worried and Shino was still emotionless.

While still running Kiba says, " I can't believe they got Naruto so easily!"

Shino looked at Kiba and said "Naruto was the only one out of us that didn't know there were enemies"

"Of course that idiot couldn't tell they were there. It's Naruto for kami's sake!" Kiba yelled back

"It's our fault in not telling him that there were enemies spying on us" Shino replied

"Yea but if we told him he would have gone after them! He would have scared off half of the bugs in this forest, including the bikochu!" Kiba yelled at Shino

"Even so, because we didn't feel it necessary to tell him, he was easily ambushed. While he did not sense them, it is mostly our fault in not telling him" Shino calmly replied

"I see your point, but he still should have been able to sense them! What do you think Hinata?" Kiba asked

"All in a-all, we n-need to save h-him" Hinata said back worriedly

xxxxx

Midnight was fast approaching and team 8 stopped at a flowing river still following Naruto's scent

Looking down Kiba said "It figures that they would ambush the only one that didn't know they were there"

"If they had tried to take the bikochu by force, they would risk harming the insect. So they decided to capture Naruto and offer an exchange. That was a smart move." Shino replied

Kiba and now Hinata were looking down. Kiba suddenly looked up and with Akamaru, started sniffing the air

"Does anyone else smell something sweet?" Kiba asked

Akamaru was sniffing a nearby rock cover in a sticky substance, Looking at the rock Shino says,

"Honey. So the enemy is using honey bees"

"Bees?" Hinata asked

Amamaru suddenly whimpered and Kiba said "Well that's it guys. Naruto's scent ends here"

"In that case" Shino says as he unleashes tons of bugs from his body.

The kikaichu meet up in the air, and suddenly they all vanish, all searching for Naruto.

Getting back on the subject Kiba says, "So they waited for a moment where Naruto would be alone, then attacked him with a swarm of bees"

"I've heard that in Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth Country) in Iwagakure no Sato (Hidden Rock Village) there is a clan of insect handlers that specialize in bees. Word is that they are called the Kamizuru clan" Shino replied

Hinata looks at Shino and says "Kamizuru? I-i have never heard o-of them"

"Apparently they were thought of to be as skilled as the Aburame clan in the past" Shino continued

"So what they aren't anymore?" Kiba asked

"It was back in my grandfathers day. The shinobi of Iwagakure no Sato attempted to attack Konoha. The Kamizuru clan were chosen to map out a strategy. Their plan was to attack with an giant swarm of bees, letting the main forces strike in the chaos. However the Aburame got wind of the attack, and met them in the forest to the west. It was an unprecedented battle between insect handlers, and the Aburame prevailed. With that victory in hand, the Aburame clan quickly rose to prominence in Konoha, while the Kamizuru were brought to ruin back in Iwa. They say that there are only a few of them left"

"So they are the ones that came here looking for the bikochu huh? So what do you think they plan to do with it?" Kiba asked

"Hopefully when my insects return, they can shed a little light on the matter" Shino said back

xxxxx

A few of Shino's kikaichu flew close to a hive like structure and were ambushed by bees, all were killed except for one. Inside the cave Naruto was still restrained on the wall by the think honey and was guarded by tons of bees. Naruto woke up from his nap and looked around at all of the bees and thought

_'They still haven't found me huh? It doesn't matter they still have time. I have complete faith in them'_

Naruto decided to try to overhear what the three Kamizuru's were saying, he could barely hear it, but he was able to decipher what they were saying.

"Konoha is up against the wall right now" Kurobachi said

"With the fiasco at the chuunin exam.." Jibachi said

"Their Hokage assassinated, and scores of shinobi lost. Times are about to change dramatically. This is what our clan had been waiting for, a chance for us to show our medal. But in order for us to do that..." Suzumebachi said

"Our Tsuchikage's book" Kurobachi said

"Yes" Suzumebachi replied

"A wide array of forbidden jutsu useful to insect handlers are said to be within it. If our clan had had it when we fought the Aburame we wouldn't have lost that cursed day" Jibachi said

"Maybe. And yet all of our people have been searching for it a great many years to no avail. You really think we can find it after all this time?" Kurobachi asked

"That's why we need the bikochu" Suzumebachi said pulling out an item "This belonged to my grandfather. He was the original Tsuchikage. When the bikochu emerges it will seek out the first scent it's introduced too. We should be able to locate the book of secrets grandfather hid as he was dying. This lock of his hair will lead us right to it. If we can get our hands on that book, and aren't afraid to use it, there is no question, the village will acknowledge us"

Naruto looked down as far as he could and thought _'So they are no different from me. They just want to be recognized'_

xxxxx

team 8 arrived back the their base camp just as Shino's single kikaichu arrived. Shino held out his hand and the bug dropped onto it, seemingly injured.

Looking at Shino Hinata asks, "So w-where is Naruto-kun Shino?"

Shaking his head Shino says "I don't know, and they probably destroyed the rest of the insects I sent out as well"

"Great. Guess that's it then we don't have a choice but to do what they say" Kiba said

"A-and after all we w-went through to f-find it" Hinata said looking down

"So you think we should desert Naruto?" Shino asked

"W-w-what?! N-no we are not leaving him behind! I-i don't care what happens I-i'm not leaving N-naruto-kun to die!" Hinata yelled

Smiling Kiba says "Here here" while Akamaru barks

"The only problem is that Naruto would be angry at us if we give them the bikochu" Shino said

"Well. We will just need to find another way of tracking him down" Kiba said

"True, but for now the priority is rescuing Naruto. However, is that what Naruto would want?" Shino asked

"W-what do you mean Shino?" Hinata asked

"Granted I don't know Naruto too well, but from what I can tell, he would give everything up for his friends to stay safe. If it meant that his friends would live happier and even for just one more day, he would most likely find that reason enough to give his life for them. From what I have heard from Tsunade-sama, Naruto thinks of Sasuke as his own brother, and I believe that Naruto would gladly give his life for a chance of his brother being rescued. For that reason, I want this mission to be completed"

"But back to our original question. How do we rescue him when we don't even know where he is?" Kiba asked

"There is one place where we know he will be" Shino said

Snapping once Kiba said "Of course. Naruto will be there when we make the trade off"

"S-so they will have t-to bring him f-for the bikochu" Hinata said after

"Correct. It's our only chance" Shino said

"S-so we must save Naruto-kun and p-protect the bikochu, no m-matter what" Hinata said

xxxxx

Team 8 just arrived at the meeting spot to see the three Kamizuru's standing across from them with Suzumebachi holding a bound and unconscious Naruto.

"We got here on time and we have the bug with us so hand over Naruto" Kiba said

Suzumebachi lightly laughed and said "Set the bikochu down on the rock in front of you"

Shino quietly walked to a flat rock in front of him and placed down the beetle

"There is your bug so let Naruto go!" Kiba yelled

"Not until we have a look" Suzumebachi said as Kurobachi walked to the beetle

Picking up the container with the beetle in it Kurobachi looks in and inspects the bug.

"Che, what is this? You little brats, you think you can mock our clan like that!" Kurobachi said as he threw down the container.

The container break and the fake bikochu turns into a normal beetle and flies off.

"A Goliath beetle?! Are you kidding!" Kurobachi said as he tries to rush Shino, only to find a kunai at his throat.

"Shino now!" Kiba yelled

A second Shino appeared behind the other two Kamizuru's with his parasitic insects coming swarming around him . As a second Kiba grabs Naruto and runs back to the team. The Kiba next to Hinata poofs away showing Akamaru in his place

"Hinata now!" Kiba yelled as she and Akamaru rush in

Hinata struck Kurobachi with several Jyuuken strikes, disabling him as Shino engulfed the other two in his bugs.

"You two are done...wait a second"Shino said

Kiba suddenly says "Hey guys, this doesn't smell like Naruto"

"Just as I thought" Shino said as the three Kamizuru's and Naruto turned into honey

"It's just bees wax!" Kiba yelled

looking up Shino said "Incoming!"

Tons and tons of bees were above team 8 as they all started to attack. Cutting down several bees they tried to defend themselves as Kiba said

"Why are we attacking these things, they're just bees wax!"

Shino looks closely at a bees that flew past him and suddenly said "Don't move!"

Shino ran to the other two and cut a bee in half that was about to sting Hinata

"This bee is real, and it was carrying a deadly poison. It appears that there are real ones in the mix" Shino said

"B-but that all look the s-same" Hinata said

"Watch my back for a second" Shino said as he started making hand signs.

"_**Wall of Insects Jutsu!**_" Shino said as tons of kikaichu came out of his coat and surrounded them.

The bees tried to get into the dome, but could not break through the dome of insects. The bees all were either dead or left and Shino recalled his kikaichu.

"Impressive strength for a genin" came Suzumebachi's voice

Team 8 looked up at a small cliff to their side and saw the three Kamizuru's standing on its edge.

"However I should expect no less from a member of the Aburame clan, isn't that right?" Suzumebachi asked

"The Kamizuru clan" Shino said

Looking slightly surprised Suzumebachi said "So, cat's out of the bag"

"R-return Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled

"We had every intention of returning him, if you were good little kids and handed over the bikochu. Only thing is. It doesn't look like that was your plan!" Suzumebachi yelled back

"So, what do we do now?" Shino asked

"Your an insect handler, you never carry a fragile creature like the bikochu into a battle. So we will finish you off right here and now, and then take your time afterward to search for the bug!" Suzumebachi said as she unleashed many more bees upon team 8.

Shino once again called out his insect wall as the bees attacked

"Heh. Is that all they've got?"

Hinata looks up and sees that many of the bees have tags attached to them

"Shino paper bombs!" Hinata yelled

The bees attacked the dome and instantly blew up, launching team 8 over the cliff into the woods below. The three Kamizuru's chased after them into the trees.

Team 8 was rushing the three Iwa nin's and Kiba said "Your asking for it!"

Suzumebachi went through a few hand signs and said "_**A Thousand Bee Stingers Jutsu**_"

All of the bees began to shoot their stingers as projectiles as the three genin tried to deflect them all. However they all got stung countless times and limped over in the air. Suzumebachi was smirking until she saw the three genin turn into bugs

"Insect clones" Suzumebachi said as she and Jibachi turned into bees wax.

Kurobachi stopped on a branch and frowned _'Nothing but cheep tricks'_

xxxxx

The real team 8 was jumping through the trees as Hinata asked

"W-what should we do now Shino?"

"Shouldn't we go back? We don't want those guys to find the spot where we hid the bikochu" Kiba said after

"Don't worry, the location is safe for the time being. Right now, all that matters is finding Naruto" Shino said as they began the search once more

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_**Authors notes: **Here is the next chapter of what I have to say is probably my most popular story yet. It's basically just like the anime but I had to take into effect that it's Naruto that's captured and not Hinata._

_To be fair to all of my readers. My poll that I put up a week ago when I put out the chapter before this one will be deleted and posted again. The reason behind this is that each week I will only post up one chapter of one story, unless I suddenly get the inspiration for one. So each week when a new chapter is posted I will re-post the poll for you to vote on. Basically each week you will vote to decide which story I should make a new chapter for. _

_Again the choices for the stories are:_

_**The Wish That Changed It All**_

_**A Second Chance**_

_**Ice In The Leaf**_

_Which story do you think I should make a chapter for this week? Answer in the poll if you would or in a review if you prefer._

_Until next time **Read, Review and Vote**_

_Tenshi Namikaze_


	4. Kamizuru's Final Strike

Akamaru was sniffing the ground but suddenly stopped when he saw small kikaichu on the ground.

Shino walked up to the dead bugs and picked one up and inspected it.

Shino looked up and said "No question about it"

In front of team 8 was a huge hive like structure that had a medium sized entrance.

Kiba looked at the structure and said "In there huh?" as Akamaru barked

They ran inside and Hinata called out "Naruto-kun where are you!?"

"Stay on your toes everybody. There's no sigh of those guys but it could still be a trap"

Akamaru ran forward and started barking at a spot in the wall. Hinata ran forward to Akamaru and saw a bundle laying inside a hole in the wall.

"N-naruto-kun?" Hinata asked

Naruto grunted once and Hinata said "He's okay!" as she pulled him out

Helping Hinata pull Naruto out Kiba said, "Hay Naruto, you alright?"

Putting Naruto on the ground Hinata and Kiba brought out a kunai each and started breaking the hard mold covering Naruto's body, all the while Shino was looking on in deep thought. What team 8 didn't notice was that three bees were at the top of the roof next to a skylight watching them.

Naruto was soon freed and Akamaru smelled him to make sure it wasn't another fake Naruto.

"Almost there" Kiba said as Akamaru whimpered confusedly.

Hinata pulled the hard bees wax off of Naruto's mouth and Naruto woke up

Naruto looked up at Hinata and said "Hinata"

He then hugged her tight and said "Arigato" over and over again

Hinata was red faced while Kiba was looking wide eyed while thinking _'What is he doing? There is no way Naruto would do that to Hinata. He doesn't even know she likes him'_

Shino suddenly threw a kunai at Naruto and Naruto jumped away.

"What are you doing Shino, are you trying to kill me?" Naruto asked

Ignoring the question Shino said, "Out with it, who are you?"

"I-isn't that Naruto-kun Shino?" Hinata asked still red faced

"Yea, Akamaru never get's a scent wrong" Kiba said after

Akamaru faced Kiba and whimpered a few times and Kiba said "What? The scent of two people mixed together?"

"If your not Naruto-kun, then who are you?" Hinata said rather forcefully

"Please believe me Hinata. I am Naruto" 'Naruto' said

"If you are Naruto, then what did you just try to stick onto Hinata's back?" Shino asked as he grabbed Naruto's arm.

Out of Naruto's hand came a piece of paper that landed in front of Hinata

"A paper bomb?" Hinata said

Naruto slapped away Shino's hand while Kiba said "You were gonna blow his head off"

'Naruto suddenly chuckled before he was covered in smoke. Out of the smoke came Suzumebachi with Naruto's jacket draped over her shoulders.

"I don't believe it I was sure that would work" Suzumebachi said

Naruto's jacket fell off of her back and dropped to the floor.

"You! I see, the one on the hill was only a clone" Shino said

"She had Naruto's jacket around her. So that's how she hid her scent" Kiba said after

"Tell the truth. Where is Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked

"So sorry, hard to say really" Suzumebachi replied

xxxxx

Jibachi was at a fast paced river tying a rope to a wooden pole on shore while about a dozen bees were hovering above the thin rope.

Standing up Jibachi said "Good, it looks like the rest of those brats followed Suzumebachi right into our trap"

Looking out into the water he said "Your comrades won't be coming for you. Guess they feel the bikochu is of more value than you are. So you can forget about being rescued"

Out in the middle of the running water was Naruto, he was still covered, bound, and gagged by the bees wax and was only staying in place due to the thin rope Jibachi tied to the shore. Naruto opened his eyes as Kurobachi arrived.

"Alright come on. We had better start searching for the bikochu they hid" Kurobachi said to Jibachi

Naruto's eyes went side when he figured out where he was.

"There is not much time till sunrise" Kurobachi said

"Right. I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. You make even the slightest move out of the ordinary and the bees will sever the rope. Right up ahead is the entrance to a labyrinth-themed underground sewer. Plunge in there, and you'll be dead in an instant. We have no desire to kill anyone so if you want to live I suggest you stay still" Jibachi said as he and Kurobachi jumped away

_'Now this is a problem. I never intended it to get this bad. I need to get out of here and at least give the others a greater chance at winning. Sigh...I might have to do what Tsunade-sama said and reveal my Hyouton to the others. So I need to escape, find my comrades and help them defeat these Iwa nin's...as Shikamaru would say 'how troublesome'.'_

xxxxx

Suzumebachi was laughing at the three genin in front of her as she said "You three are like a trio of moths. Always flying blindly into the fire"

Team 8 looked around and saw that the whole building was covered in paper bombs. Tensing they got ready for whatever the Iwa kunoichi had in store for them

"If we are lucky though maybe we will meet again" Suzumebachi said as she held out another paper bomb.

The paper bomb in Suzumebachi's hand blew up, thus making all of the other bomb tags explode as well. The ground around team 8 shook and came loose. Plunging the three genin's into a deep hole.

"Careful boys. This is no ordinary cave" Suzumebachi said hanging from the roof

Kiba applied chakra to his hand and stuck it to the side of the hole, thus ending his fall. Shino grabbed hold of Kiba's leg as Hinata grabbed his.

Kiba suddenly yelled from the pain in his leg and screamed at his teammates " Hey come one you guys let go!"

"There is nothing else to grab onto so just be patient. We need to get our bearings" Shino spoke calmly

Akamaru suddenly landed on Kiba's shoulder and kiba screamed once more from pain. Shino looked around and saw tons and tons of what looked like slugs at the bottom of the hole.

Hinata screamed and yelled "There are bee larvae all over the place!"

"Bee larvae huh? Something wrong though, they are far to big" Shino said after

From her spot on the roof Suzumebachi said "All you need to do is tell me where you have hidden the bikochu. I get what I want and you get to live"

"We will not tell you! It was our mission to get a bikochu and you can't have it!" Hinata yelled

"Really?.....willing to die for it?!" Suzumebachi yelled as bees with explosive tags on them flew towards team 8.

"Paper bombs!" Shino said

"Argh, come on Akamaru! _**Fang Over Fang**_!" Kiba yelled as Akamaru transformed into a copy of Kiba and they both dug into the wall in front of them.

xxxxx

Naruto heard the sound and felt the tremor of Kiba's jutsu _'That sound, apparently they haven't given up yet. That's good, they are still fighting. I can't just lay around here anymore, I need to get out of here'_

Concentrating Naruto focused on the bees _'Feel the wind distribution, feel it's distortions, I can feel the wind that the bees are making with their wings......thirteen of them. So if I focus on those points, I should be able to hit them. However I need to do this fast, otherwise they will cut the rope and I will fall to my death. Concentrate...Focus...More....More....Make the wind thinner...Sharper'_

xxxxx

"_**Fang Over Fang!**_"

The wall suddenly caved in the team 8 looked ahead and stood wide eyed

"How many of these are there?!" Hinata cried out

Kiba was panting heavily and was swaying on his feet

"Kiba?" Shino asked

"Sorry, I'm coming up empty here. For some reason my body had given out"

Shino thought for a second then said "It can't be"

"The larvae in this hive hunger only for one type of food. Chakra"

"W-what?" Hinata asked

"And as long as your down there, they'll drain every ounce you have through the walls around you"

The three genin tensed and all knew they were in trouble.

Suzumebachi laughed and said, "Don't pout, why don't you just tell me the location?"

xxxxx

Naruto was still in the running river concentrating. The bees were still hovering above the rope. A wave came in and pushed Naruto down stream, thus tensing the rope. As Naruto came back he thought _'Now!'_

Suddenly the air around Naruto started to shift in compressed balls, once the balls were formed, small needles of air flew out of it towards the bees

_'One..two..three four...six..ten..eleven..twelve..thirteen..'_

The thirteenth bee however got out alive and cut the rope holding Naruto in place

_'No I missed!' _Naruto thought as he was pushed to the entrance of the cave.

xxxxx

Suzumebachi went through a few hand-signs, put her hand on the ground and called out

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_"

Team 8 looked up through a hole in the roof above them, only to see a type of mane on something. Taking a closer look they realize that the mane belongs to a giant, at least two story, bee.

Suzumebachi looked down at the three genin and said "Whats your preference? You want the larvae coming after you? Or would you rather be food for the big guy here? It's your choice so what will it be?"

Kiba suddenly fell forward onto his face as he passed out. Hinata crouches down to check on him, but finds that she herself is on the verge on unconsciousness.

"Well, this is bad" Shino spoke as the larvae got closer

Laughing Suzumebachi said "Whats the matter? Is there something wrong? Don't you want to become larvae food?"

"Really bad" Shino said after

Shino threw a shuriken at the giant bee above Suzumebachi. It bounced off of the bees head and the bee itself grew angry.

"Did you honestly expect that to work?" Suzumebachi asked laughing

The giant bee opened its mouth and shot out gallons upon gallons of bees wax at the three genin. Team 8 was covered in it and drowning.

xxxxx

_'Okay so wind didn't work out so well, so water is my only hope. Focus on the water around me, make it dense with chakra and bend it to my will'_

The water around Naruto became darker and the chakra enhanced water started eating away at the bees wax that was still covering Naruto.

_'I need to hurry. Judging from the sound of the running water....it sound like there is a waterfall ahead of me. Damn it I need to hurry!'_

The water kept eating away at the wax as Naruto came closer and closer to his death. Naruto noticed a rock in the middle of the waterfall and that he was about to hit it. Naruto hit the rock and went over the falls.

xxxxx

Jibachi and Kurobachi jumped out of the trees and landed behind Suzumebachi and the giant bee.

Jibachi walked up and said "So, did you take care of them?"

Suzumebachi smirked and said "What a bunch of idiots, provoking her like that"

Jibachi looked down into the hole and saw team 8 unconscious and said "Look at them, they're covered in bees wax. Bees make sticky wax, aren't you supposed to be an insect handler? And you didn't know that?"

"So what about the bikochu?" Suzumebachi asked

"Nothing so far. We fanned out and canvased the area but we haven't found it yet" Kurobachi replied

"Maybe these kids are carrying it with them?" Jibachi asked

"Even they wouldn't be that stupid" Suzumebachi said back

"I guess that means" Kurobachi started

"That we'll have the squeeze the information out of one of our new friends" Jibachi finished

"We won't tell you" Hinata said

"......I'll tell you"

"What? Shino?"

"One one condition. You give us Naruto" Shino said

"Ridiculous, trying to bargain with us?" Suzumebachi said

Laughing Jibachi said "Maybe you don't understand the position your in"

"There is no way you will ever find the bikochu on your own" Shino said back

"Huh? Suzumebachi asked

"And I believe your pressed for time. Perhaps you don't understand your position" Shino replied

The three Kamizuru's huddled up and spoke:

"What should we do?" Jibachi asked

"At this rate the bikochu will hatch, and then it will be useless" Suzumebachi replied

"If that happens, our mission is a failure" Kurobachi said after

"Yes...but is we can get rid of even one of the Aburame clan..."Suzumebachi said

What only Shino knew was that kikaichu bugs were making their way into Hinata and Kiba's wax cocoon.

Looking into the night sky Hinata says a single word "Naruto-kun"

"Are you worried?" Shino asked

"Why would you ask that, of course I am" Hinata replied

"Naruto is strong you know" Shino said

"Yes...he is" Hinata said back

"Much stronger than we think"

"What?" Hinata asked

Her answer never came because the three Iwa nin's walked back to them.

"Alright then, we agree to your offer" Suzumebachi said

"We want to see our friend first" Shino said

Suzumebachi just smirked

xxxxx

Jibachi was carrying Kiba while Kurobachi was carrying Shino and Hinata and the three Kamizuru's were taking the three genin to the spot Naruto was at.

They arrived at the river only for Jibachi to gasp and drop Kiba's unconscious body on the ground. Running over to the post in the ground he sees the severed rope twirling in the air.

"What happened?" Suzumebachi asked

"That brat, he's gone! The wax cocoon he was in isn't here either. The current, it must have swept him over the waterfall" Jibachi said back

Hinata gasped as Suzumebachi said "Jibachi!"

"This isn't my fault! I warned him! I said not to move one inch or he would die!" Jibachi yelled back

"How could you! What did you do?! What did you do to Naruto-kun?!" Hinata screamed

"You little brat. Shut up, your little friend is probably at the bottom of the river now anyway" Jibachi said

"How dare you.." Hinata tried to say before Jibachi stepped on her head

"Aww she's so upset. That blonde haired brat must have been her boyfriend" Jibachi said holding up his pinky finger

"Your a monster!" Hinata yelled

"Your joking right? What could you possibly do to me all wrapped up like that?"

"You could forget our deal. Without Naruto we will never tell you where the bikochu is" Shino said

Suzumebachi walked forward and said "The boys death may not have been part of our plan, but it's not a complete loss. In fact, it may be a good thing...because you see, now we get to avenge our clan, and take your lives"

Shino and Hinata gasped as Suzumebachi continued "Members of Konoha have always been enemies of Iwa. So killing you would be natural"

Suzumebachi then nodded to Jibachi and he smirked. Jibachi brought his leg up to pound Hinata's head in, but stopped and jumped away just in time to miss a chakra laser that was going to impale him.

Hinata looked up with fury in her eyes and said "You killed Naruto-kun. I will never forgive you!"

"Shut up you damn brat!" Jibachi yelled as he ran to Hinata with a kunai in hand, ready to kill her

Jibachi's run was cut short by a kunai landing in front of him.

Kurobachi looked at the kunai, gasped, then said, "Paper bomb!"

The paper bomb exploded and covered everybody in smoke and dirt. Once the smoke passed a figure could be seen in middle of the explosion.

Naruto stood tall in front of his bound comrades and looked at the three Iwa nin's with determination etched on his face

"He's...alive?" Jibachi asked

"But how?" Kurobachi asked

_xxx Flashback no Jutsu xxx_

_Naruto hit the rock in the middle of the waterfall, launching him into the air. In midair he opened his eyes and the wax covering him broke apart and he landed safely on the same rock he hit. _

"_Time to go help the others" Naruto said_

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx_

"Naruto-kun your alive!" Hinata yelled as she tried to get out of the bees wax, but to no avail

Looking back at her Naruto said "It's me Hinata. Here, let me help you with that"

Naruto then snapped his fingers and the wax cocoon that surrounded Hinata turned to ice and broke apart.

Hinata was looking at Naruto with wide eyes thinking _'Naruto-kun was the ice user all along'_

"Hinata, I'll make you a deal" Naruto said

"W-what kind of deal?" Hinata asked confused

Smirking Naruto said, "You defend, I'll attack"

Hinata smiled and nodded, then walked up next to Naruto and activated her byakugan.

"_**Bee Bomb Jutsu**_" Jibachi called

"_**A Thousand Stingers Jutsu**_" Kurobachi called after

" _**Honey Bee Jutsu**_" Suzumebachi called out lastly

Over two hundred bees surrounded Naruto and Hinata. However both of them kept straight and determined faces on.

"Your up Hinata" Naruto said smiling

"Hai"

Hinata brought her hand up to her face and started focusing her chakra as the bees attacked.

_'Naruto. I'll make you proud of me'_

"S_**hugohakke Rokujyuu Yonshou**_"

A dome of chakra surrounded the duo and Naruto could see that Hinata was firing chakra rays from her palms.

_'Ganbaru Hina-hime'_ Naruto thought with a smile

The three Kamizuru's were wide eyed at the fact that their bees were getting slaughtered by a mere genin.

"None of our justu's are having any affect" Jibachi said

"How is she doing that?" Suzumebachi asked

"That girl is unreal" Kurobachi said last

Kurobachi then gasped as he saw Shino and Kiba out of their cocoons due to Shino weakening the cocoons with his bugs.

"How did they get out?" He asked

"And when?" Jibachi asked after

Suzumebachi frowned and bit her thumb "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_"

The Giant bee from before was flying above the three Iwa nin's.

Naruto smirked as Hinata ended her jutsu

"My turn Hinata" he said as he walked forward

The giant bee launched itself to Naruto, about to make him its next meal

Naruto went through a couple hand signs and said _"**Hyouton: Hyourou no Jutsu**_"

a giant ice pillar suddenly appeared in front of the giant bee and consumed it, freezing the giant bee in place.

Everyone was wide eyed at the fact that Naruto could produce so much ice so fast.

Naruto just smirked once more, walked up to the imprisoned bee and focused chakra to his palm.

A sphere of chakra appeared in Naruto's hand and he thrust it into the ice prison

"_**Rasengan**_!"

The ice prison was instantly destroyed and the bee was punctured in the abdomen, spraying bees wax over Naruto. The now dead bee flew back and landed on the three shock stricken Kamizuru's. Crushing them under it's weight.

Naruto looked back to team 8 and said only three words

"You all pass"

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_**Authors notes:**__ It's a new chapter of Ice in the leaf. So you all know what to do next. Yes you guessed it, you all need to vote for which story you want to be updated next_

_This will most likely be the longest chapter for a while, so don't get your hopes up. I'm still keeping it at at least 2,500 words and most likely below 3,000. I only made this one so long because I wanted to finish the Bikochu arc. Well the best part of it anyway_

_So a new poll is up_

_**Read, Review **and **Vote**_

_See you next time_

_Tenshi Namikaze_


	5. Explanation and New Questions

Team 8 plus Naruto were running back to the tree base where the bikochu was hidden. Naruto had not been able to completely clean himself off of all the bees wax that previously covered him, so he now only had spots where the wax had dried up.

Team 8 was, for the most part, completely confused about what happened. Out of nowhere Naruto had come to save them from the giant bee and had even shown that he could do Hyouton jutsu's.

Hinata knew for a fact that Naruto was the mysterious figure she saw those times before and she could not get rid of a stubborn blush that coated her face. Now that she knew of Naruto being the ice user, she remembered that he had given her an ice rose. She was filled with hope and happiness knowing that there was a strong possibility that Naruto knew, and even returned, her feelings.

Shino was still as stoic as ever. However the events that passed made him change his views on the now enigma that was Naruto. Shino confessed to himself that he had not taken much time in getting to know the blonde, and even berated himself for not looking underneath the underneath. Shino now knew, even from the small demonstration that Naruto gave them, that Naruto was much more then he had ever let on. Apparently he had been wearing a mask of some-sorts, making it seen that he was much weaker than he let on. Shino concluded that he would need to learn about this new Naruto.

Kiba was agitated and confused about what happened back at the river. It was bad enough that he and Akamaru were out-cold during the fight, but it was even worse that, the moment he woke up, he saw Naruto use two jutsu's that he had never even heard of, let alone that they were so strong. Kiba might not be the jealous type, but he still felt a bit of envy knowing that Naruto was able to defeat a boss summon with only two jutsu's.

All together the team had one dominating thought

Who was Naruto Uzumaki?

xxxxx

The four genin arrived back at their camping spot and Shino went over to the giant tree's trunk and pulled out the container with the bikochu within in. Shino suddenly flinched and looked to the others.

"We need to hurry, the bikochu egg is beginning to hatch"

Naruto gasped and ran over to Shino while pulling out Sasuke's scratched headband. Shino opened the container and Naruto quickly put in the headband next to the now hatched bikochu beetle. The beetle stepped over the headband and started, what looked like, sniffing it with its elephant like nose. The beetle suddenly started flying around in the container and Shino opened the lid.

Only for the beetle to fly to Naruto and land on a spot of dried bees wax.

Naruto looked wide eyed at the beetle who apparently got the wrong scent. The others were also wide eyed, including Shino, at seeing the bikochu follow Naruto when Sasuke's headband was put into the container. Shino looked at the headband closely and suddenly dropped his head and sighed.

"Look at the headband Naruto" Shino said

Naruto walked over to the container with the headband in it and looked, only to see that right next to the egg shell was a dried piece of bees wax sticking to the headband.

They had failed

"We failed, after all we went through we failed!" Naruto yelled out

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Kiba asked

"Right next to the egg shell is dried up bees was that is sticking to the headband. The bikochu got the scent of the wax instead of Sasuke's scent. We failed our mission" Naruto spoke back

"Oh no" Hinata whispered with her head down in sadness

"It was not our fault. It was only an unseen circumstance that led to our failure" Shino said calmly

"I know that Shino, but it still doesn't make it anymore depressing" Naruto spoke back

"It's still all the same though, we failed" Kiba said after

"N-naruto-kun?" Hinata shyly asked

Looking at Hinata Naruto said "Yea Hinata-chan?"

_'Chan?' _ Was the thought that passed through team 8, though Hinata's was more from surprise

"I-i have t-t ask....w-who are you N-naruto-kun?" Hinata asked

Naruto looked shocked before he suddenly started to chuckle "I always knew you were so smart Hinata-chan. Before I answer your question though, let me change out of these wax covered rags"

Naruto walked away from the others and team 8 saw that he pulled out a scroll from his kunai pouch. Naruto went behind the tree and a poof sound was heard, as well as shuffling cloths. After two minutes Naruto came back to the wide eyed expressions of his comrades.

Naruto had gotten rid of his normal orange jumpsuit and had changed into something that, while it didn't have as bright of colors, had quite an image all the same.

Naruto now wore a dark blue sleeveless jacket with a black short sleeved shirt underneath. He also wore black ANBU style pants and black shinobi sandals. Over it all he wore a dark blue cloak that had kanji laced into the back. The kanji said '_**Aisu no Ha**_' or the '_**Ice of Leaf**_'.

Naruto walked over to team 8 and smiled, not his normal ear-wide grin, but a small and genuine smile that made Hinata's heart melt from the sight of it.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" Naruto asked

Regaining from his hidden shock Shino said, "Hinata asked who you are Naruto. Now I believe that it was a question with a longer answer than I realize"

"There's one more thing too. What did you mean that we passed? Were we in some sort of test?" Kiba asked

"Good questions both of them. You three might want to sit down because this may be long" Naruto spoke back

They all went over to the tree and team 8 sat on its roots while Naruto stood before them.

"Well then...I guess I should start from the beginning. You three know me as Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure. However that is false, my full name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze and my clan originally came from Kirigakure" Naruto said

If team 8's eyes were wide before then it had just reached a whole new level. Naruto's true name was a shock, even though no one knew who else had his last name, but the fact that Naruto had a clan, and that they had come from Kirigakure the dreaded _**'Bloody Mist**_' was the true shocker.

"Now since you know that the clan Uzumaki came from Kirigakure then I must tell you more. What you three saw earlier today was my bloodline. The Uzumaki clan were the strongest clan in Kirigakure because of their ability. They had the ability to control the water and wind to such a degree that they were able to manipulate it to form the sub-element ice. Thus was the creation of Hyouton jutsu's" Naruto continued

"So because you are an Uzumaki you are able to use the Hyouton bloodline correct?" Shino asked

"Correct Shino. Now as you are all probably wondering why me, being an Uzumaki, is doing living in Konoha. The truth is that I am the last Uzumaki alive and my rightful home is in Konoha. Do any of you know the reason why a mist clan would come to Konoha?"

"I-i have heard t-that Kiri h-had a bloodline p-purge" Hinata answered

"That's correct Hinata-chan. The Uzumaki were the focus of the dreaded Kiri bloodline purge and because of the civil war that ensued all of the Uzumaki were killed but one. That one was my mother. She left Kirigakure and ventured to Konoha, where she knew she had allies. She was able to live in Konoha, but she was unable to bring back her clan because the village council denied her a clan home and rights. Eventually she grew used to it and married my father, who had the last name of Namikaze"

"So what happened to them? Why are you an orphan then?" Kiba asked

"Because Kiba, my father was killed by the Kyuubi while my mother died after childbirth. The worst part of it is that Konoha has become much to lax and because of that none of the medics were trained enough to save my mother. However if any one of them had the extra training, or if Tsunade of the sannin were there I would have not lost my mother that day" Naruto said sadly

"We are sorry for your loss Naruto" Shino said

"Its okay. I came to terms with it a long time ago. The last thing I want to tell you all is of your test. Yes you were tested in this mission. After you three left I had a talk to Tsunade-sama and she gave me a secret mission to test you three on your teamwork, as well as your courage to most likely give up your mission to save a captured teammate" Naruto said back

"Wait, you mean that you and Tsunade made those Iwa nin attack us?" Kiba asked in surprise

"No we did not. Truthfully this was supposed to be an easy mission. However I would have created a couple Kage Bunshin to pose as enemies that would capture me and test you three as well. However the three Iwa nin turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Even if they tried to kill us"

"So you saw it as an opportunity as took it?" Shino asked

"Exactly Shino. You three passed your test and now we can go back and report to Tsunade-sama" Naruto said back

"One more thing though Naruto. The way you are acting now is much different than the normal you. Is this the normal you are are you also a mask?" Shino asked

"The me you see now is the truth I have been hiding since the academy. Deception is a ninja's number one advantage and I took that to its extreme. I have been hiding my true potential as well as my skills and intelligence. Truthfully I could have easily been rookie of the year but I chose to hide everything about me, even my true personality"

"So what is the true you?" Kiba asked

"The true me is not as loud, I'm stronger, faster and smarter than the other me, but my beliefs are still the same, as well as my determination and resolve. The truth is that I'm just quieter and smarter than normal. However we don't have anymore time for questions, we only have about five more hours until sunset and I really want to go home"

"I-i agree" Hinata said

"Alright then" Kiba said after

"Let us go then" Shino said lastly

xxxxx

The trip back had been uneventful besides Naruto telling team 8 of his true self. The four eventually arrived at the gates of Konoha and were being greeted by the gatekeepers. Saying their pleasantries and walking away the four set their destination to the Hokage's office.

Beside the door of Tsunade's office sat Shizune looking bored. The four genin walked up to her and she smiled.

"Welcome back you four" She said

"It's good to be back nee-chan" Naruto said back

Shizune suddenly looked at Naruto and said " Ah Naruto-kun, your wearing those cloths, does that mean that your done hiding?"

"Hai it does Nee-chan. Obba-sama told me it was a good idea to reveal my true self and I agreed" Naruto said back

"So how did team 8 do on their test?" Shizune asked

Looking to team 8 Naruto said with a smile "I can proudly say that they passed all expectations"

Kiba let out a whoop of joy while Shino and Hinata smiled

"That's great Naruto-kun. Oh by the way Tsunade-sama has been waiting for you so go right in" Shizune said

"Arigato nee-chan" Naruto said as he opened the door with team 8 and Shizune following

xxxxx

Tsunade was fast asleep sitting at the desk and the four genin plus Shizune sweat-dropped

"Uh...Naruto-kun...can you wake her up?" Shizune asked

"Hai nee-chan" Naruto replied

Naruto walked to the front of the desk and made a hand sign and transformed into a perfect copy of Shizune.

"Lady Tsunade have you been hiding sake in your desk?!?!" the transformed Naruto yelled

Tsunade's head suddenly shot up and she hugged a bottle of sake close to her chest and screamed "ITS MY SAKE MINE MINE MINE YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!!!!!"

Tsunade suddenly blinked seeing a freaked out team 8 and a hysterically laughing Naruto and Shizune.

"Oh, so your all back. Alright then, report" Tsunade said

*chuckle* "Hai Tsunade-sama. We found the bikochu beetle just in time" Naruto said

"That's good to hear, so where is the beetle?" Tsunade asked

"You see...that's where we ran into a problem. Originally you sent us to get a bikochu and sent me to help and test a team of Iwa nin's attacked us and tried to take the bikochu" Naruto said

"You are all still alive and in good health. So what happened?" Tsunade asked

"We were able to defeat the three Iwa nin's. However when the beetle hatched and took the scent off of Sasuke's headband we didn't notice that it had some bees wax stuck to it. So the beetle took the scent of normal bees wax. The bikochu that we have is useless now" Naruto replied sadly

"That is unfortunate, but what do you mean that the headband had bees wax on it?"

"We the three Iwa nin we encountered were from the Kamizuru clan Hokage-sama"

"I see. Very well then, the mission was a failure and we will have to find another way to track down Sasuke Uchiha. You four may go, and its good to see the true you Naruto" Tsunade said

"Hai Tsunade-sama" Naruto said as he and team 8 left the building

xxxxx

The four genin just exited the Hokage tower when team 8 suddenly saw Naruto use a henge to look like his previous self.

"Hey Naruto. Why did you..." Kiba said only to be interrupted by a scream

"Naruto!" A voice shouted as Sakura came to a stop in front of the four.

"Hay Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled with his fake ear to ear wide smile on his face

"So where is the beetle that can help us find Sasuke-kun?!" Sakura asked

"Ah, you see Sakura-chan..." Naruto began

"We failed our mission because the bikochu took the wrong scent" Shino said, cutting off Naruto's response

"So you guys failed? Sakura asked

"Yea we did, but it wasn't any of our faults" Kiba said back

"I bet it was Naruto's fault just like always!" Sakura suddenly yelled

"I just said that it wasn't any of our faults!" Kiba yelled back

"H-he's right Sakura. It was n-not Naruto-kun's f-fault" Hinata said as well

"Of course it was Naruto's fault! This baka can't do anything right! He must have did it to come in-between mine and Sasuke-kun's love! He doesn't want Sasuke-kun to come back!" Sakura yelled back louder

"It wasn't my fault Sakura-chan" Naruto said

"It's always your fault Naruto-baka! Get over here so I can kill you!" Sakura yelled as she ran after Naruto.

Team 8 looked at the dust cloud that was once the last two members of team 7 and all thought

_'How could she blame it on Naruto when we said it wasn't his fault'_

"We said it wasn't his or our fault. Why did she go a bloody murder on him?" Kiba asked

"I do not know Kiba" Shino replied

"T-that and N-naruto-kun changed b-back to h-his old s-self" Hinata said after

"After seeing Sakura's reaction I'm not really surprised he did change back. She doesn't listen to reason" Kiba said

"Whenever Sasuke is involved and it goes wrong she immediately blames Naruto. How sad" Shino said as well

Hinata looked on ahead thinking _'Is your team so bad that you would trust us with this more than them?'_

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_**Authors notes:** Another week another chapter. Sorry that this is late but my weekend was quite eventful. I really don't want to go into detail but I can say that my friends needed a lot of consoling because of what happened._

_A new poll is up. Same question._

_I am currently making an RP with two of my friends Pandachick/ChibiVampire and Iris-Ayame. It's on my deviant art page and the link is on my profile. It is written by all three of us so the styles are not the same. Hope you like it_

_**Read**_, _**Review**_**, **and_**Vote**_

_Tenshi Namikaze _


	6. The Kurosuki Family

A coffin, a deathbed. A sanctuary used to preserve the dead. Or maybe, not so dead

"Ah! Why?! He was such a good man. Truly. Why did he have to be taken away!?"

The coffin was over its grave, held by multiple ropes that kept it midair.

"Sorrow, such sorrow"

Others could hear what was happening from the mine they worked in. All had one thought in common

_'Not another one'_

The weeping man continued as he watched the coffin shake with life

"I remember a day you showed me...one of your most prized possessions..."

As they filled the grave with dirt, muffled cries for help could be heard from within the coffin.

"With a twinkle in your eye you told me how it had once belonged to your father. It was a beautiful piece, a gorgeous light-box, no wonder you were so proud of it. Yet when I ripped it from your hands and smashed it to the ground, all you did was laugh. And when we booted you in the ribs and tossed you in, all you did was smile. It was such a lovely smile...beautiful"

xxxxx

High up on a cliff three others watched the horror go on.

Hold it in Rokusuke. They'll be gone in a minute, this is our chance to sneak away. We've only got one shot" One of them spoke

"I know, but Kanpachi..." The man known as Rokusuke said back

"For our people we just can't sit idly by. That village is our only hope we have no choice!" The third man said

Two started running while Rokusuke wiped his tears and continued to watch.

xxxxx

"Ah! Nothing like a good funeral!!" The caped weeping man said as he stepped over the now filled grave.

"I can't wait till the next one" He said as one of the cloaked men shuddered

"...One...Two...Three...Another three have gotten away" Came a child's voice from nowhere

"One more funeral to look forward too"

xxxxx

The three escapees held close to the cliff as the gusts of wind blew by like a hurricane. Rokusuke looked up in time to see a boulder dropping right for them. With a scream they fell off the cliff and into the rapids below.

xxxxx

*drip*

*groan*

"Wha...where am I?" Rokusuke asked dazed

"Konohagakure no Sato" Came a young voice

"Who are you?" Rokusuke asked again

"Turning his head back the young one said "Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm right in the middle of some training" Naruto said with a smile

"...Konoha..*groan*" Rokusuke said as he passed out once more

"Huh? Hey uh..you okay? Hang in there buddy I got ya" Naruto said as he carried Rokusuke and the two others on his back

*grunt* "I guess I can chalk this up for training as well" Naruto said as he water-walked slowly

xxxxx

*Crash*

"Ha!"

Punches and kicks were thrown as Rock Lee trained with steel bracers and shoes on. Straining to keep his leg in the air Lee's eyes widen as he sees Naruto carry the three men on his back over the water.

"I could do better! HA!"

*crash*

*boom*

*CRASH*

xxxxx

"Lord Chichiasu of the land of swamps arrived at his destination without a hitch" Came the proud voice of Anko Mitarashi

In front of her Tsunade sat with Shizune by her side with smiles on their faces

"Good to know" Tsunade said as she reached for the last stick of dango on a plate in front of her. Only to find it gone.

"Aie! Tsunade was eating that!" came Shizune's cry

"Man the dango in this village can't be beat!" Anko yelled out as she ate the stick of dango

"Anko...you just took the last one" Tsunade said fidgeting madly

*gulp*" Uh...ah..." Anko could only reply with

xxxxx

"Mission accomplished my lady. I laid the smack-down on the dastardly pirates of the Gatani Channel with my Frenzied Fist of Love! If they take this opportunity to start they're lives anew...Then Konoha's beautiful green beast will shed a tear! AHAHAHAHA!" Came Maito Gai's overenthusiastic cry.

Tsunade sipped her tea as she spoke to the still laughing Gai, "I have something I want to put your squad on"

"Eh?" Came Gai's response

*sigh* "We're stretched thin enough as it is, and yet somehow Naruto had brought in more work" Tsunade said

"And remember Gai one of our clients asked for you specifically for that one S ranked mission. He'll have to set out today if he wants to make it in time" Shizune said after

"They won't need Gai then" Tsunade replied

"The day had finally come..."Gai started almost in tears

"Your kids will go alone. Neji, Tenten, and Lee"

"AHAHA! You won't regret this either, my students will nail this one believe you me" Gai yelled back as Shizune started to walk away for more work

"Also..." Tsunade said causing both Gai and Shizune to go confused

"Naruto is going with them" Tsunade continued dropping the straw that broke the camels back

"WHATS THAT ABOUT?! LISTEN UP I LOVE THOSE KIDS MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD AND I'M TELLING YOU THEY CAN HANDLE IT! WHY CAN'T THEY GO ALONE?!?!" Gai screamed out

"Look, just because alright?" Tsunade said back causing Gai to jaw drop

xxxxx

"Those men Naruto rescued are here to request our services. They came all the way from the Katabami gold mine, one of the most abundant mines in all of Kawa no Kuni (River Country). However, about six months ago a bunch of goons calling themselves the Kurosuki family showed up and ran the royal family out of town. They have taken over their village and apparently are killing people left and right" Tsunade said

"That is unforgivable!" Lee yelled out

"Once these men have regained their strength, your objective is to escort them back to the Katabami mine and take out this..Kurosuki family" Tsunade continued

Naruto was off to the side seemingly uninterested, he was once more in his orange jumpsuit since he only trusted team 8, Tsunade, Jiraiya and the Ichiraku family with his secret.

_'I hate having to act the part of an idiot. It get's on my nerves so bad. However, I guess I can show team Gai who I am. Neji isn't as stuck up anymore and he earned my respect by apologizing to Hina-hime. Lee is just a great guy that you know you can trust him with anything and he will remain loyal. While Tenten is just an honest person and has a good heart. Shoot, if I didn't hate the CRA (clan restoration act) and if I didn't already love Hina-hime, I would most likely ask her out. So team Gai is up next to see the true me. Not yet though. I still have to play my part'_ Naruto thought

" A simple mission really. They're probably just a bunch of greedy hoodlums" Tsunade finished

"So what am Idoing here, it sounds like a chimp could do this mission" Naruto said

_'I hate it when he has to act'_ Tsunade thought as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Tsunade said angrily

"Come on Baa-chan I've got enough on my plate now, with training and looking for Sasu..Ah!"

Bringing the now frightened Naruto close Tsunade yelled out, "You think you get to call the shots around here you little Gaki?! Your a genin you'll take whatever mission I give you! I'll send you back to the academy so fast your head will spin!"

"Neji Hyuuga!" Tsunade yelled once more

"Uh, Hai" He replied

"Your team leader!" Tsunade yelled she she shoved Naruto to him

"It will be good training trying to tame the un-tameable!" Tsunade finished

"I'd rather not, but, I'll give it a shot" Neji replied

Grunting Naruto said "I'll be out training when you need me, you old bat"

"Naruto" Lee said as he ran to catch up

Neji just bowed and left as Tenten looked sheepishly at Tsunade and said "Um..Sorry about that, they have no manners you know? Ehehe..uh..wait up you guys!" she called as she too ran after the others

Not fifteen seconds passed when Tsunade finally snapped

*CRASH*

"OOWW!!"

Tsunade had thrown her chair out of the window behind her in her rage and had hit an unlucky chunnin in the head.

"Those lousy little brats! What the hell do they think I'm running here anyway?!" Tsunade screamed out

"My lady if I may" Gai said

"Yes, what is it!?"Tsunade yelled without turning around

"The Kurosuki family, what did you say their leaders name was again?" Gai asked

"Raiga" Tsunade replied

"As I thought" Gai said as Lee ran in the room and to his sensei's side

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked still slightly angry

"Well..I heard a rumor about him when I was out in the field one time" Gai replied

"What kind of rumor" Lee asked

xxxxx

"Still no sign of Ero-sennin, and now I'm stuck with this mission. Man this sucks" Naruto said as he walked down the halls of the Hokage tower.

Naruto looked off to the side and sees someone he didn't expect to be there. Playing his act perfectly he called out to her "Sakura-chan!"

Looking back Sakura notices him and just says "Naruto"

"What are you doing out here?..Huh?" Naruto asks as he sees something in her hands

"I found a bird yesterday and I've been trying to treat it but...." Sakura said as green chakra surrounded the birds broken wing.

The bird flew away as if the damage from before was never there in the first place.

"Whoa...Sakura-chan that's amazing!" Naruto says

"But the poor little thing, it got separated from it's friends...Oh?" Sakura says as she sees other birds fly around the one she healed and all flew off together.

"Naruto!" Came a loud yell

Turning around Sakura and Naruto see Lee behind them.

"Uh...am I intruding on something?" Lee asked

_'There was nothing to begin with' _"What does it look like?" Naruto asked

"Uh..no Lee hold fast you must not turn away. In our youth we must always seize the moment. Hey Sakura-chan, how are you today?" Lee asked

"Uh..*giggle* I'm great Lee" Sakura replied

_'Poor Lee'_ "What do you want already?" Naruto asked

"A word with _you _actually" Lee said as he grabbed Naruto and pulled him away

"Oh Uh. See you later Sakura-chan!" Came Lee's distant yell

Sakura watched as Lee and Naruto ran off and two chunnin, Izumo and Kotetsu, climbed up the stairs with the Hokage's chair in their arms.

"Well look at the bright side, at least it wasn't a desk" Kotetsu said

"You hilarious you know that?" Izumo replied

Seeing the two walk by Sakura notices a giant bloody bump on Izumo's head and blood on the right corner of the chair.

xxxxx

"Say what? The boss of the Kurosuki family is one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Naruto asked perplexed

"That's right. Gai-sensei filled me in, and if he says it, you know it is true" Lee replied digging into his Ichiraku ramen

_'Just like Kisame and...Zabuza' _"So...Who are these seven swordsmen anyway?" Naruto asked

"Naruto! You said you fought in the land of waves for one of your missions remember?" Lee said

"Yea? Zabuza what of it?" Naruto asked

"Let's not forget the man our sensei's fought together, Kisame Hoshigaki. Word on the street is that you also met him" Lee said pointing his chopsticks at Naruto

"Yea. I remember Kisame" Naruto replied

"Both men hailed from Kirigakure and both were former members of the seven swordsmen, and Kisame had a partner, he was not alone" Lee said as he once more dug into his ramen

_'Itachi-teme'_ "Oh yea that Itachi guy!" Naruto yelled "And?"

"Do you not get it yet? This Raiga, if he is indeed one of the seven ninja swordsmen, will probably have some connection to Kisame, who is in league with Itachi" Lee said

"Oh! And?" Naruto asked

"And who is Itachi linked to?" Lee asked

_'That traitor Sasuke. Just like every Uchiha to walk this earth' _"Oh I know! Its Sasuke!"

"That is correct Naruto!" Lee said giving the patented nice guy pose with shiny teeth

"That gold mine is the perfect place to pick up Sasuke's trail again, am I right?" Lee asked

"Um Yea. I don't know, if Gai told you then..."

Slamming his fist onto the counter Lee yelled "Hey! Do not talk down to my sensei Naruto! That info is completely reliable"

_'Gai maybe a freak, but he sure is reliable no doubt about that'_ Thought Naruto

xxxxx

"Alright. We keep a close eye on our friends here as we head for Katabami. Then deal with the Kurosuki family once we arrive" Neji said

"There is a shop that is very close to that village. It can be our home base" Lee said

"How do you know about a shop out there?" Tenten asked

Wagging his finger at her Lee said "Gomen, that is a surprise for the journey"

"We're just waiting on Naruto then, naturally" Neji spoke

"Well this whole mission is based off of info Gai-sensei got. Maybe Naruto just didn't buy it" Tenten said after

"Ah. That is not true Tenten! He will definitely be here. Naruto knows Gai-sensei's info is rock solid" Lee said

"Terrific" Neji said looking down

One of the three Katabami men looked up and saw an orange clad Naruto falling from the air.

"Here I am! So we're all here. Let's hit the road everybody" Naruto spoke

"That's not your call" Neji replied

"Let's go!" Naruto yelled ignoring Neji

"Hey uh...Which way is it?" Naruto asked after

"Where have you been Naruto?" Tenten asked

"Well...you see...I got caught up with something...something very important"

xxxxx

Hinata had just finished training with her team and walked into her room, only to see something on her desk. Walking over to it she notices another ice rose with a letter beneath it with Naruto's name on it. Gently moving the rose away and opening the letter, all with a blush on her face she reads it

_To Hina-hime,_

_Ever since the bikochu mission when you learned who I really am I have been thinking that I should tell you. No that I needed to tell you the whole truth about my personality change. One thing you should know is that my 'love' for Sakura was part of the mask. So in truth I have no special feelings for her._

Hinata blushed and thought _If he doesn't like Sakura...then maybe he can like me'_

_I can tell that your probably blushing right now and thinking about how you can get me to like you instead. The truth is_

_I..._

The Hyuuga would not know what caused their heiress to faint. All they knew was that she she fainted with a pure smile on her face

xxxxx

Days passed as they all traveled to River country. Rokusuke however was trying to rush everyone to get there faster, he even ate faster so they could be ready to move sooner.

"Calm down Rokusuke. These Konoha shinobi will help us" One of the three Katabami villagers said as he and Rokusuke watched Naruto balancing on stacked up rocks.

Tenten laughed and Neji was uninterested. However Lee was watching as if in a challenge

"I will not allow myself to lose!" Lee said as he gulped down his onigiri and started punching the life out a near by boulder, sending huge rocks flying from it.

"Well I'm not going to lose either!" Naruto yelled as he caught rocks with his feet and added them to his stack.

Two of the Katabami villagers laughed white Rokusuke stood up and said "How long do you ninja expect to rest here?"

Everyone looked at him as he continued "We need to hurry if we are going to save Kanpachi"

"Have you gone mad? Come on, you know how long he's been in that coffin. It's hard but.." One of other two said as Tenten looked on in sadness.

xxxxx

"This grogginess. I remember, we must be close" Lee said with drooping eyes

"Grogginess? Are you sleep walking right now?" Naruto asked

"Do not worry. I ran a marathon here one time. It was three days and I slept through the whole thing" Lee said back

"Your pulling my leg" Naruto replied

"No it is true. Gai-sensei and I raced one another. My body aches just thinking about it. I am so sleepy" Lee said

"Hey uh bushy brow you sure your okay?" Naruto asked

"Ah I almost forgot how thick the scent of curry is around here. It is so spicy"Lee said seemingly ignoring Naruto

"Curry?" Naruto asked as he sniffed the air "Oh yea"

"I was right! It is just up ahead! The curry shop of life!" Shouted Lee as he sprinted off, leaving everyone else behind in his dust

_**Authors notes: **Finally, sorry I took so long guys but I've been on an Xbox binge ever since Modern Warfare 2 and Assassins Creed 2 came out. Well...that and the fact that I had no idea of how to make this chapter. Hope you like it and I will have an little extra out into the Raiga arc._

_New pole same question_

_Read Review and Vote_

_Tenshi Namikaze_


	7. The Curry of Life

An old woman was standing outside a shop with a bucket filled with water. Tipping it and letting the water fall to the earth below she smiles, thinking her plants would grow strong with her around. She was broken out of her thoughts by a loud yell.

"SANSHOU-BAASAN!"

Looking up in surprise she says "Wait, it that. Well goodness me"

Next thing she knew a green spandex clad boy had grabbed her and was swinging her around yelling in joy.

Off to the side the rest of the Konoha group and Katabami men watch as Lee continues to twirl around the small old woman.

"Soo...this is Lee's shop then?" Tenten asked

No one answers her question as Neji looks at the three Katabami men who were looking out at a mountain in their view.

"There. That is the Katabami gold mine" the biggest of the three Hachidai said

All of the genin except Lee, who was now dizzy from spinning around so much, looked off to the spot Hachidai pointed too.

Kanpachi meanwhile just kept looking at the mounting, hoping that he would get there in time.

xxxxx

Everyone had gone inside the shop and were all sitting at a table waiting to be served, all the while Lee was talking about how he knew the far out spot while messing around with a spoon in a glass of water.

"Sanshou-baasan's curry saved my life back then" Lee spoke

"Huh? You just mean its good though right?" Naruto asked

"No, it honestly saved my life. I am in its debt. This is back in the days when I had just become a genin. Gai-sensei had taken me out to these parts to introduce a new training regimen" Lee replied

"Oh of course, I remember. That brings me back" Sanshou said as she mixed the curry together

_xxx Flashback no Jutsu xxx_

_Gai and a slightly younger, yet not dressed differently, lee were running down a path breathing hard. They had been running for a good while as Lee listened to Gai as he spoke_

"_Come on Lee, give it your all" Gai said_

_Sanshou was standing right outside her shop as the two spandex clad ninja ran by._

"_Oh my" She spoke_

_Gai and Lee kept running, not even stopping to take a break._

"_Ah, hey. Sanshou-baasan. Howdy do" Gai spoke slightly winded as he and Lee kept running._

_xxxxx_

_A day had passed and Sanshou stood outside her shop as her grandson Karashi ate some curry at the table._

"_Why, there back again" Sanshou spoke_

_Gai and Lee were still running, however, as Sanshou saw they were both asleep while running._

"_Those gentlemen are running in their sleep" Sanshou said as they passed her shop once more_

_Looking into the shop and at Karashi she said, " Karashi, if you had the kind of energy those two have you would never lose to those rotten bullies again"_

_Karashi didn't reply, but instead looked down at his plate in depression_

"_Ha, oh dear" Sanshou spoke as she watched Karashi get up and walk farther into the shop_

"_Me and my big mouth" She said after_

_xxxxx _

_Another day had passed and it was a rainy day as Karashi watched Gai run passed the shop still asleep. Karashi looked and saw that Lee was not next to Gai running. He looked out to where they normally came from and saw Lee still asleep and running, however he was far behind his teacher._

_xxxxx_

_Another day gone and Sanshou stood outside her store and looked out at the form of a sleep-running Gai._

"_Goodness gracious. This is the third day, and they never stopped running" Sanshou spoke as Gai once again passed the shop._

_Karashi looked down smiling and took a bite out of his curry as he suddenly heard Sanshou shout_

"_Oh! One of them is down!" Sanshou yelled as Lee passed out in front of the shop door._

_Karashi got up from his seat and walked over to the now face-down Lee as he helped Sanshou drag him inside the shop. They laid Lee down with his head on a sitting pillow and watched as he snored loudly and was dripping with sweat._

_Sanshou stood above Lee with a plate of curry in her hands and said "I wonder is he's hungry?"_

_She took a spoon full of curry and put it into Lee's mouth, only for him to eat it all in a second and continue sleeping._

"_Oh what a pickle, he still won't wake up. Perhaps it needs a bit more spice" Sanshou said as she walked back into the kitchen and threw some peppers into the tray of boiling curry and stirred._

_She came back with a new plate of, now spicy curry, and put it into Lee's open and snoring mouth. Once again Lee ate it in a single bite and kept sleeping._

_Karashi grunted as he now walked into the kitchen and threw in more spices, and what looked like a live turtle, into the boiling curry._

"_Karashi" Sanshou spoke in surprise_

"_I've never seen anyone..work so hard" Karashi said back_

"_I see. So you want to help this young man as well" Sanshou said as she walked into the kitchen and dumped a giant plate of ground spice into the freakishly hot batch of curry._

_Lee kept sleeping and snoring when they walked back in. Sanshou gave the sleeping Lee a spoonful of, now black, curry and watched as he ate it._

_Lee continued to chew the curry as his face gradually turned more and more red. Lee's eyes suddenly popped open and he screamed_

"_EEEEYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"_

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx_

"This is the curry if life" Lee said as Sanshou placed many plates of boiling hot black curry in front of them all.

Naruto looked at the boiling curry in slight fear _' I have been on the brink of death so many times, and even from a demonized Sasuke. So why does this scare me more than any of those times?'_

Lee, with his hands raised in the air said in joy, "Sanshou-baasan went through all the trouble of making us this curry, so let us dig in"

"Itadakimasu!" Lee shouted as he reached for his spoon.

Naruto, Tenten, Neji and the Katabami three all looked as Lee took his spoon and scooped up a bit of the black curry.

Lee slowly brought up the curry to his mouth as Sanshou watched with a smile. Lee slowly chewed and chewed as his face took on a glowing pink color.

Lee's eyes popped open wider than imaginable and he screamed to the heavens

"Delicious!!!"

Lee's face stayed a dangerous red as he picked up the plate and began wolfing down the curry.

"This is just, so delectable! A myriad of flavors! The spices are blended to perfection!" Lee exclaimed as he continued to gulp down his food.

The whole while Naruto looked on and, since Lee looked fine, took his own bite of the curry. Upon seeing Lee loving the food and Naruto taking a bite, the others follow suit.

The others chewed all for a good......two seconds before all of their eyes opened wide and their faces turned a glowing pink. All lifted their heads and screamed to Kami above

"AAAAAAHHHHHHJHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Everyone had passed out from the intense heat, except for a still red faced Lee who was still eating

Naruto was on the ground twitching with his legs in the air thinking _'Holy Crap! That was the hottest thing I have ever eaten in my whole entire life! I actually had to lace my mouth and throat in ice so I wouldn't get permanent damage to either of them'_

"Oh, so good" Lee spoke not seeing the others passed out and Naruto with his legs sticking in the air twitching.

"By the way, where is Karashi right now is he out?" Lee asked

"Oh, well, the boy was very moved by your work ethic and began attacking life with quite a new vigor. So much that in fact he left the shop and set out for town" Sanshou replied

Lee looked at her in confusion as she continued.

"I shouldn't have pushed him so hard, always telling him to be strong. 'I'm going to be a man' he said 'part of the Kurosuki family'"

Rokusuke gasped as Lee slammed down his, now empty, plate on the table.

"Oh, please you must not worry yourself son, I'm not blaming you" Sanshou said as Tenten shakily reached for her glass of water and guzzling it down.

Taking a breath Tenten said "Too late now"

"I am responsible for this" Lee said

"Oh dear, oh my" Sanshou could only say back

Lee suddenly raised his hand high and yelled "Neji! Request to incorporate the rescue of Karashi into our mission! We will bring him back from this road of evil he has taken!"

Neji didn't answer to to the fact that he was in shock from the heat of the curry. Tenten rose a glass to water to his lips and he suddenly grabbed it and chugged it down.

After finishing the water and vowing to never eat a suspicious looking curry ever again Neji said, "Very well. We'll use the shop as a base of operations, and start scouting the village. Then we come up with a strategy and make our move"

"Right!" Lee exclaimed

Looking to the Katabami trio Neji says, "You three had better stay here. If we face the Kurosuki family, things will definitely get complicated"

xxxxx

"This is terrible!" Hachidai explained as he opened the door with the four Konoha genin inside.

"Rokusuke, he's...he's..he's gone!" Hachidai yelled

"He must have gone into town alone! The blasted fool!" The last Katabami villager Sangorou yelled after

"That spells trouble. Neji, if those guys find him then..." Tenten said

"Well too late trying to map out a strategy at this point guys. We'd better get straight to business" Naruto said

"Right! Let us get to business!" Lee exclaimed after

"Let's hurry" Neji said lastly

xxxxx

Rokusuke was running along the cliff trail, trying to get to his destination quickly.

_'Just hold on Kanpachi! I'm coming to save you!'_ Rokusuke thought unaware that the four genin were running after him

xxxxx

"Someone...is coming" A young voice said

"What a pity, seems we'll be holding yet another funeral" A lower voice said

"Why do you hold so many funerals?" A different voice said, a girls voice.

The deep voiced man didn't respond, he only turned around away.

The young girl looked down a thought _'What did I get myself into?'_ Before she ran after the man

xxxxx

Rokusuke was on his knees, frantically digging at the site of a grave trying to get to the hopefully still alive body under the earth.

"Just hold on. Just a little longer" He said as he kept digging

"Hey" a voice called

Rokusuke looked to his side and say a man clad in a black cloak.

"And just what do you think your doing?" The man asked

Rokusuke looked around and saw that he was suddenly surrounded by cloaked individuals.

xxxxx

At the curry shop Sanshou was, of course, making curry saying "One and two and one and two..and..one...and" She suddenly stopped and thought _'I'm sure they'll be alright, their clever and strong. They'll bring Karashi back safely'_ "Sure they will. No need to worry. One! Two!..."

xxxxx

Sunrise had come as the four Konoha genin finally arrived at the Katabami mines.

"That must be the place huh? The Katabami gold mine. You know instead of just rescuing Rokusuke and Karashi, I say we finish off this Kurosuki gang once and for all" Naruto said

"Let's not get carried away Naruto" Neji replied

"Okay so whats the plan then genius?" Naruto asked back

Lee, with a pencil and mini notebook in hand said " Remember what Gai-sensei said, that worries me"

_'It worried me too'_ "What about it, that the boss of the gang might be one of the mists seven ninja swordsmen? If you ask me that just makes it more interesting" Naruto said

Shrugging her shoulders Tenten said "I don't know we can't be sure that Gai-sensei was right about that anyway"

Lee gained a tick mark on his head as he yelled "What are you talking about?! Gai-sensei is always right!"

"First things first. We need to investigate" Neji said

"Well let's go!"

xxxxx

At the door of the, now ran out, royal family's home. The black clad men through Rokusuke in front of the door chuckling while Rokusuke himself was trembling in fear.

One of the men spoke, seemingly into the house "Raiga-sama, we caught one of the three villagers who tried to run away"

The doors of the house opened slowly and a black cloaked figure could be seen inside, as well as another deeper into the house.

"Well done" Raiga said

"Seems they thought they'd run away and get help from ninja of the neighboring village" The man from before continued

Another kicked Rokusuke in the side and yelled out "Dog! Where did you run too?!"

"Back off rookie" Raiga said in a dangerously level voice

The man looked at Raiga, then stepped back and said "Hai"

"Why Rokusuke? After all we've done to establish a good relationship with you people, I thought we were all friends here" Raiga said

Rokusuke looked up and said fearfully "We are. I mean..."

"It breaks my heart...that you think so little of us that you would leave us like that. Without a word. I try to remember the way things were, the good times" Raiga said

"Please sir. I'm sorry it won't happen again" Rokusuke pleaded

"Oh I know! I have it! I know what we'll do! We'll arrange to have a funeral!......yours" Raiga said back

Rokusuke trembled in fear as he pleaded, "Oh please forgive me! I don't know what I was thinking! No please! It won't happen again! I promise! I promise!!"

"What's wrong? Don't you like funerals?" Raiga asked

"Oh please! Not mine! I'm not ready to die!" Rokusuke yelled

"Personally I find funerals very comforting. People can be so cruel and they spend most of their living days being unkind to one another, betraying each other, envying and hating each other. There's nothing like a funeral to bring people together, to make them forget their differences and remember the good times. People are at their best at funerals...don't you think?" Raiga said

"No, no you can't be! Please, let me go please!" Rokusuke said as he tried to crawl away

"Oh no you don't" another of the black cloaked men said as he held Rokusuke down.

"No! Please you can't! Let me go!" Rokusuke screamed

"All right what do you say?! Shall we have a nice big funeral for Rokusuke?! Raiga asked

"Yea!" Came the yelling reply

xxxxx

Naruto and the others watched as many people young and old were forced to carry at least a hundred pounds in what seemed like normal rocks. The four genin were up on a cliff and were contemplating on what to do next what Naruto said

"What is that stuff their carrying? It doesn't look like gold"

"The gold is just a part of the ore. It must be melted and refined, and the mercury and impurities removed" Lee said with his little notebook in hand

"It sound like a lot of work" Naruto replied

"Don't worry, you don't have to understand it" Neji said after

The four genin watched as an old man swayed while carrying the rocks. Finally the weight got to his old body and the man fell to the ground

"What do you think your doing old man get up!" A Kurosuki man said

"On your feet, or should we tell Raiga its time for another funeral?" Another Kurosuki said

"No please!" The old man weakly pleaded

"Poor guy. Okay that does it now I'm mad!" Naruto yelled

"Relax Naruto. We're going to finish our scouting before we make a move" Neji said trying to keep Naruto in check

"Yea, hold your horses Neji's right" Tenten said after

"Great idea, lets just sit here and watch those guys drive that old man into the ground" Naruto said back

Lee suddenly stood up and said "Right, you just leave this to me!" and he jumped off to help

"Lee! What are you doing?!" Tenten yelled

"Yea that's right, pick them up, every last one of them" a Kurosuki man said as the old man frantically picked up the rocks.

The next thing any of the four Kurosuki members knew was blackness as Lee knocked them all out

The other three genin jumped down to cliff as Lee said to the old man "You are alright, fear not"

The man just stayed still wide eyed and said "Are you crazy? Dear heaven what have you done?"

Naruto walked up to the old man and help up a canteen "Here, you must be thirsty"

The old man only panicked and slapped it away

"Hey! What's that all about?!" Naruto yelled

"You've got to do to me what you just did to them! Hurry! Beat me! Hit me! Knock me to the ground!" The old man pleaded

"You feeling okay old man?" Naruto asked

"If you won't then I'll do it myself!" The old man said as he started punching himself in the face

"No stop that!" Lee yelled as he held the old mans arms down

"What the heck's wrong with you?" Naruto asked after

"Don't you see?! If I'm not injured they'll think it was me behind it! And that means they'll give me a funeral!"

In the distance a gong could be heard being struck

"That gong, what does it mean?" Naruto asked

"Is it some kind of alarm?" Tenten asked after

"No...Its summoning everyone...to a funeral" The old man said in a shaky voice

"A funeral?" Neji asked

"That's right. If any of us displeases Raiga the leader of the clan as punishment he arranges a funeral at which the guilty person is buried alive" The old man replied

"He what?! Buries them alive?! That's the worst thing I've ever heard!" Tenten exclaimed

"The Raiga gets very sad. He bows his head and weeps over the coffin as if he's lost a dear friend" The old man continued

"Sounds like we're dealing with a real nut-job here" Naruto said

"That gong, whose funeral are they ringing it for? It can't be yours can it old man?" Neji asked

"No. I heard they caught Rokusuke this morning. It must be his" The old man replied

"Rokusuke?!" Naruto yelled

"We must save him and fast!" Lee exclaimed

"Let's go then" Neji said as they all ran towards the funeral ground.

* * *

_**Authors notes: **The next chapter is out and I hope you find it satisfactory enough to wait for another week. Granted while this normally only takes me about three to four hours to write for each chapter I still need to research for the next one._

_I have passed 100 reviews and the 100'th reviewer is **Ryuujin96**_

_I will be adding an OC to this story but it won't be Tenshi of even of my own creation. The OC was made by my friend **PandaChick105 **and I wanted to add her to the story. She was not mentioned by name in this chapter but she is in it. Can you find the first line she says?_

_New pole, same question as always_

_Read, Review and Vote_

_Till next time_

_Tenshi Namikaze_


	8. Raiga Kurosuki

A coffin was being carried by four black cloaked individuals while many other people dressed the same way followed close behind. Stopping at the top of a very small hill and laying down the coffin they encircled it.

A new funeral had just begun.

Two more cloaked individuals were a top a cliff looking down on the funeral. Not much could be told by the two except that one was around 5 foot 3 inches and the other was around 6 feet tall, as well as the taller one had his cloak covering what either looked like a large hump or bag.

The taller one spoke while crying "I'm happy. I remember when I first met him"

"That's good" A voice said out of nowhere

"When I told him that I would release the Katabami gold mine from the magistrate and his taxes, he was so happy" The taller one said wiping his eyes with his sleeve

"He was laughing with such a happy-looking face. He really was a good guy" The taller one continued

"Must you do this Raiga-sama? This can't be humane, so why do you do this?" The shorter of the two asked

Seemingly ignoring her Raiga continued "Funerals are nice. They're very touching"

"Will my funeral be this intense and grand as well?" asked the mysterious voice

Eyes wide Raiga looks back and says, "Baka, your not going to have one! Your not going to die until I die! Even if you aren't remembered for doing good things during your life at your funeral, you have always been a good kid"

"Raiga" Said the voice

"Hmm?"

"They're coming, they're going to reveal themselves soon" The voice answered

"I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of guys they've called" Raiga said after

"And once they do, I bet there's going to be more funerals" The second one said

"Maybe, just maybe" Raiga answered

_xxxxx_

Team Gai plus Naruto were about fifty feet away from the funeral, waiting for their chance to jump in and stop it.

"Alright everyone, lets go save him. Neji, I'm counting on you" Naruto said

"Alright, _**Byakugan**_" Neji said as he looked into the coffin, "It's alright, he's still alive. If we can defeat the others, we can still save him in time"

"Let's take them out then" Naruto said

"Yes, Let us go" Lee said after

_xxxxx_

On the ground, the coffin was shaking from pounding fists, "No! Please save me!" Rokusuke screamed from inside the coffin.

Outside the coffin many of the blacked cloaked individuals laughed evilly, that is, until a few smoke bombs landed at their feet and exploded. One person jumped out of the smoke while others stayed and took off their cloaks.

"It's the enemy!" one of them yelled

One person however ran away from the others in fear. One of the others that had stayed behind clenched his right hand and three metal claws camp out of his knuckles _**(Exactly like Wolverine, and yes its actually in the anime)**_

The four genin ran at the enemies with Naruto putting out a battle cry.

"Bastard's!" One of the Kurosuki said

"Tenten, take care of the two enemies on the right!" Neji yelled still running

"Hai!" Tenten yelled back as she pulled out a three piece staff with chain connectors.

Tenten bashed the first Kurosuki in the cheek with the end of her staff before he could react. The other Kurosuki came in with his claws and swiped at Tenten, however she jumped over the strike and, detaching the chain staff, slammed one section of it into the man's stomach, making him cough up blood and fall to the ground. Tenten landed and held her detached staff by the two outer sections as she waited to see if one of her teammates needed her help.

Neji saw two Kurosuki running towards him and got into his gentle fist stance.

"_**Jyuuken!**_" Neji yelled as he slammed his palm into one of the enemies stomach, making him grimace and fall over. Neji then did a spin kick and blocked the claws of the other enemy, then, continuing the spin he kicked the man in the face with his other leg.

"_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**_" Naruto yelled as four copies appeared. An enemy spin kicked at one Naruto who ducked and kicked the man upward, where the other three continued the upward barrage while saying, "_**U-Zu-Ma-Ki**_" The original jumped over the man and axe-kicked him in the stomach while yelling out, "_**Naruto Rendan!**_"

The man rapidly flew towards two other shocked enemies and ended up landing on them, also knocking them out. _**(I'm getting references from the anime,**_ _**and this actually happened)**_

"That's the way it's done" Naruto said after he landed

"Be careful" Neji said stopping next to Naruto

"Huh?" Naruto asked

"There are still three left" Neji replied

Another enemy jumped down from a tree intending on landing on Naruto, but Naruto side-stepped him and punched him in the kidney.

A Kurosuki suddenly popped out of the ground and ran at Neji, only to be roundhouse kicked in the face by Lee

"The Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee, is ready" Lee said right after

Lee spotted an enemy trying to hide behind a grave stone and said, "I found the last one!"

The enemy started to run away when Lee suddenly appeared in front of him in mid punch. However he stopped right before connecting and went wide-eyed. The enemy fall backward making his cloaks hood fall.

"You are..." Lee said still mid punch

"What's with him?" Naruto asked jogging over

"Well, this person is Karashi" Lee answered

So he's Sanshou-baasan's..." Tenten said as she and Neji walked up

"This guy's Karashi?" Naruto asked

Karashi just scoffed and folded his arms while looking away.

"It is not true that you joined the Kurosuki family of your own will, like Sanshou-baasan said, is it?" Lee asked

"So what if I did?" Karashi said back

"You!" Naruto yelled

"You see, Raiga-sama is awesome! He kicked the evil people out of the Katabami Gold Mine and set the village free" Karashi replied

"Listen you! Sanshou-baasan, everyday while making curry, was really worried about you!" Naruto yelled back

"Naruto, please leave this to me" Lee said, making Naruto lower his raised fist and settle for just glaring at Karashi, "Karashi, didn't you save my life with your curry of life? Why would you, who can make such wonderful curry, join a family that takes people lives?"

Scoffing Karashi says, "No one praises you for making curry. Since I was born a man in this world, I must use it to control heaven and earth! It's better than working in a store that's falling apart and rarely has customers come by."

"What did you say?! I can't hold back anymore!" Naruto yelled Raising his fist and punching.

Karashi flew back and Naruto's eyes slightly widened when he saw that Lee punched Karashi

"Lee..." Tenten said

"Karashi, it wasn't just my life that got saved by the curry that you and Sanshou-baasan made. If you put your whole heart into it and make a lot of curry, you can save lives. Even for a person like myself, If I out my whole heart into it, nothing is impossible. That's what you taught me. I see the you of back then as better and stronger than the you of now. Please promise me! Promise that you will definitely leave the Kurosuki family" Lee said

Karashi, remembering when he made the curry of life, moved onto his knees and said, "I understand. I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

"Well that's good" Naruto said slightly smiling

Lee and Naruto suddenly jumped when they heard a voice call out, "Hey! Please let me out of here. It's dark...It hurts!"

"Oops! I totally forgot about Rokusuke!" Naruto yelled as he ran over to the coffin and opened it.

Rokusuke jumped out of the coffin gasping for breath. Looking up he sees the genin and said, "You guys..."

"We made you wait, didn't we? It's alright now" Naruto said

Rokusuke looked down and said, "Gomen, I thought I might still be able to save my friends that were here. I couldn't just stand around anymore and..."

"Yeah, I understand" Naruto said

Tenten looked to her side to see Neji looking up into the sky, "Neji, what's wrong?" She asked

Neji was looking out onto the cliffs, he suddenly had a strange feeling that all of them were being watched. A picture of two red eyes popped into his mind and he went wide eyed.

"What's this? This sense of Killing Intent?" Neji said to himself

The three others jogged up to him and Naruto asked, "Hey Neji, what's wrong?"

"We're being watched. Most likely, it's Raiga" Neji replied

"Nani?" Naruto asked

"On top of that mountain" Neji said pointing at a cliff face

"Right! Let's go then" Naruto said after

Lee turned back to Karashi, who was standing next to Rokusuke and said, "Karashi, Please take care of Rokusuke"

"S-sure" Karashi said back as the four genin jumped off

_xxxxx_

The four genin arrived at the cliff top and looked around for Raiga, Naruto was about to speak up when he noticed that a fog was slowly coming in.

_'He's here' _"What's this?" Naruto asked

As the fog got thicker and thicker Neji spoke up, "This fog is..."

A dark laughter laughter emanated from within the fog and two figures stood at the top of the cliff while the taller one spoke, "_**Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu**_"

lee was flipping through the little black notebook he had and stopped at a page while reading off it, "The Mist ninja are especially talented with the Kirigakure no Jutsu"

"So what Gai-sensei said was right?" Tenten asked

"Kuso! I cant see a thing!" Naruto yelled out

"Neji, find the enemy with your byakugan" Lee called out

"I've been doing that for a while now!" Neji yelled back

Neji looked around with his byakugan, only to see the cliff and rocks around him and nothing else.

Gasping Neji said, "I can't see a thing!"

That is impossible! I cannot believe that Neji's 360 degree vision byakugan cannot see anything" Lee said in disbelief

"What does this mean?" Naruto asked while thinking _'What's going on? Neji can't see a thing but I can feel that there are two people up ahead by the wind disturbance and through the water in the mist. How can Neji not see anything? I this a genjutsu? No, that can't be, the byakugan is designed to be able to see through all but the strongest genjutsu, and from Raiga's profile it said that he is a ninjutsu user and never uses genjutsu. So...how is this possible? Is it the other person doing this?'_

"There isn't supposed to be any jutsu that can block the byakugan" Neji said deactivating his eyes

Up on the cliff Raiga spoke, "How is it Ranmaru?"

"It's amazing, one of the four can see people's energies. Most likely it is a specialized power" Came Ranmaru's voice from nowhere

"He can see us?" Raiga asked

"Don't worry, I have a greater power than he does. So, what are we going to do?" Ranmaru asked

"Everyone in the Katabami Gold Mine is depending on me. I have to protect the peace of this village" Raiga answered

"Are we going to have a funeral?" Ranmaru asked

"No. Even if we had a funeral, no one has any memories of them, so we'll just take care of them!" Raiga said clenching his fists

Raiga reached his hands under his cloak and the sound of metal scraping metal was heard. Raising two objects into the air he yelled out, "Look! _**Ninpo: Ikazuchi no Kiba! (Ninja art: Ikazuchi's fangs)**_"

Raiga tapped the two packages together and lightning burst from them, tearing the packaging away revealing two swords with two spikes sticking out of each sword, with one near the hilt, and the other near the tip of the blade. Raising the blades higher two giant bolts of lightning were sent out into the air.

The four genin looked on in shock and awe while Naruto said, "Wh-what is that?"

Thunder clouds appeared overhead with lightning surging through it. Raiga looked up and yelled, "Ikazuchi, Surge!"

Suddenly a huge lightning bolt came down from the clouds and landed on the four genin before they could react, destroying the section of the mounting they were standing on.

Raiga lowered his swords and asked, "How was that Ranmaru?"

"Raiga, that's amazing!" Ranmaru replied

"That really was devastating" The shorter second one said after

Raiga started to laugh louder and louder at the though of his completely destroyed enemies.

The smoke and mist eventually went away and Raiga saw that there was only a crater left where the lightning bolt had struck.

"They flew. They flew and were blown to pieces! As I thought, it's not sad at all. No point in having a funeral over this"

Ranmaru suddenly said, "Those four are still alive"

"Impossible! After being hit with my Ikazuchi no Kiba...No. If you say so, then there's no doubt"

Two red spots appeared on the hump on Raiga's back and Ranmaru said, "One of them is dangerous"

_xxxxx_

In the forest that lied below the cliff Neji spoke, "The enemy was nearby, but...I didn't see anything" _'That's strange. Even if it's a kirigakure no jutsu, It shouldn't be able to nullify my byakugan' _"_**Byakugan**_"

Looking trough his byakugan Neji could now see multiple enemies in front of them, "I can see them. 23 degrees southwest, 12.3 degrees southeast, 8.1 degrees southeast, and 24.11 degrees northwest"

Tenten ran at three of the enemies and three two shuriken at each of them, Naruto made four kage binshin and ran at some other enemies, Lee ran at two others and used his _**Konoha Senpuu**_, and Neji ran at one more and sliced at him with a kunai, only to hear the sound of metal striking wood.

Neji's eyes widened when his enemy turned out to be a tree, "Impossible!"

Neji used his byakugan and looked at the tree, only to be shocked when the tree in that vision looked like a human with chakra running through him, "Why?" Neji asked

Tenten's shuriken hit home, however her enemies turned out to be rocks. Naruto tried to use his _**Uzumaki Rendan**_ but his enemy suddenly vanished in a poof of smoke, "Nani?!"

"Please help me!" A voice called out

"Fuzzy-brows?" Naruto asked to himself

Lee was hanging from a tree on the cliff side by his right leg, "The enemy disappeared!"

Neji turned back and looked towards the other three with his byakugan. He however still saw enemies right on front of his teammates, "No way. These illusions have chakra circulatory systems?!"

_xxxxx_

Up on the cliff stood Raiga and the second figure, Ranmaru's voice suddenly said, "One is towards the cliff, One is below the cliff. One to the left. One to the right"

"We're not having a funeral, but I'll take care of them without leaving any traces" Raiga said

_'Raiga not wanting to hold a funeral, he must be serious'_ The second figure thought

Raiga Raised his swords and yelled out **"**_**Raizou Ikazuchi wo utte! (lightning strike)**_" He then struck his swords into the cliff side and watched as lightning surged out of them and down the cliff.

All of the genin were suddenly hit by electricity and yelled out before being blasted back.

Raiga then jumped down the cliff and landed, he looked at the fallen genin and said, "Ah, warm corpses." Then, walking over to Lee's downed form he said, "We're strong, you and I. No, it's you. Ranmaru, your strong. I'm strong when I'm with you"

"Wait, they're not dead, only unconscious" Ranmaru said right after

"They're pretty stubborn. Alright, if frying them won't work. The let's crush them!" Raiga yelled

Ranmaru laughed as Raiga lifted his swords above him and said, "I'll crush your flesh and bones beautifully!"

Raiga then brought his swords down above Lee, however, before he could make contact, Lee kicked out Raiga's left leg and then kicked him in the back.

Launching back and using his swords to stop himself Raiga suddenly gasped as Ranmaru made a painful whimper. Looking back Raiga asked, "Ranmaru, are you okay?!"

Lee suddenly got up and started to unleash a barrage of kicks and punches at Raiga, whom had to either dodge the attacks of block them with his sword.

"Hang on Ranmaru!" Raiga yelled, "Ranmaru"

"I'm fine" Ranmaru replied, "Raiga, he's still unconscious"

"Nani?!" Raiga said as he looked at lee, only to see his eyes closed

Raiga tested it by raising his sword to Lee's face, which he then batted away before it touched him.

"Amazing" Raiga said

"He's fighting by muscle memory" Ranmaru said after

"That's a good face. I'll remember it. I'll burn it into my heart. Let's have a funeral for him. I'm sure that it will be one that will make me cry!" Raiga yelled as he swung his swords at Lee.

Lee however was able to defend himself perfectly and jumped over Raiga before launching himself at him.

"Right!" Ranmaru yelled making Raiga dodge a lunging fist from Lee

"What's with him?" Raiga asked

"His movements are hard to read, But I'll try harder for you Raiga " Ranmaru said after

"Both of us will!" Raiga replied

_xxxxx_

At the top of the cliff the second figure looked on in awe, "Wow, that green kid is amazing to give Raiga-sama such a tough time"

_xxxxx_

"Left! Right! From the front! Jump! Now!" Ranmaru called out as Lee attacked

After Raiga jumped over Lee he swung on of his swords down to cut Lee in half, only for Lee to do a handstand and catch the blade between his shoes.

"You, you, you!" Raiga yelled as he swung his other sword down

The other sword however was caught between Lee's hands, making Lee balance on his stomach

"Nani?!" Raiga yelled

"This person...why is he going this far?" Ranmaru asked

At this point Naruto started to come to, he slowly opened his eyes to see Raiga in front of him with his two swords being held by someone on their stomach, "Funny-brows?" Naruto then tried to get up, only to fall back onto his chest. He opened his eyes again and saw that it was lee fighting Raiga...but that he had his eyes closed _'Don't tell me he's unconscious'_ Naruto thought. He then looked to his sides and yelled, "Tenten, Neji!"

Tenten was unconscious laying on her side, however Neji opened his eyes and flipped over onto his chest. He stood up and looked at Raiga, all of a sudden a voice called out...

"Raiga, make your move!" Ranmaru yelled out

"What was that voice?" Neji asked out loud

Raiga then jumped over Lee while getting his sword out of Lee's grip, he spun around and swiped at Lee, however Lee had moved enough to dodge the strike and and kicked upwards at Raiga, tearing the back of his cloak and sending a huge bag flying.

"Raiga!" Ranmaru's voice called out from within the bag.

"Ranmaru!" Raiga yelled after

The bag landed a couple feet from Neji and the now awake Tenten.

"This is...?" Neji asked

"Neji" Tenten said right after

"Ranmaru! Move!" Raiga yelled as he pushed Lee aside, making the rest of his cloak fall off.

Lee landed on the ground and opened his eyes saying, "What? I felt like I was fighting in a dream..."

"Ranmaru" Raiga said. He then looked at Lee and said, "Damn you!"

Raiga launched himself at Lee and swung down his sword...

_xxxxx Dreaded Cliffhanger no Jutsu xxxxx_

_**Authors Notes: **Well that's it for this chapter. Gomen to everyone that I made you wait for so long. Iv'e been really busy since the school yer is almost over, and even though I've been on Spring Break this entire week, I just didn't have the urge to write. If I don't have the urge to write then the chapters are not at they,re best. So what would you rather have? An inspired chapter or a half-assed chapter?...I thought so._

_Well I don't know how often I'll be updating this story, or any of them for that matter. I've been losing my inspiration for my fics, though hopefully it will be back soon._

_For those of you who wan to know what I've been doing...I've been living my life, a constant struggle as it is. Though I have actually been writing a brand new fanfic. I can't tell you anything about it, other than the fact that it is dual written with my best friend and that it will be a cross-over. A cross-over between what you ask? I can only say that its Naruto and something else. Just to keep you guessing_

_One last thing, My very first fic '**The wish that changes it all**' I"m going to rewriting entirely. I figure I should get that one up to the standard of this one and '**a second chance**'_

_So Read, Review and Vote._

_However for all of you I might be gone for a while longer, it depends on my inspiration level and how hectic my life gets. Even more if I'm going to rewrite my first fic._

_So until the next time_

_Tenshi Namikaze_


	9. I Promise: Never Alone Again

_Previously:_

_Raiga launched himself at Lee and swung down his sword..._

_xxxxx_

Blood flew...from Raiga's mouth as Naruto suddenly appeared and kicked him away. In mid-flight Raiga spun around and dug his swords into the ground, slowing himself down to a halt.

Raiga was crouched over nursing his jaw and thought, _'What the hell was behind that kick? There was way to much power and force behind that kick to be achieved by a little brat like him' _Raiga rubbed his sore jaw and discovered that it was cold to the touch, deciding to put it off till later he looked up at the still air-born Naruto

Naruto landed on his feet and quickly melted the ice he encased his foot in and looked at Raiga, he then smirked and said, "Naruto Uzumaki arrives"

Raiga stands up to his full height and angrily says, "You damn brat!"

"Hey, there's something I want to ask you" Naruto said as he gazed at his opponent

"You were one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, right?" Naruto asked

"So what if I was?" Raiga angrily replied

"So you know Zabuza Momochi right? You also know Kisame Hoshigaki right?" Naruto asked after

Raiga just stared at Naruto with an angry look on his face, Raiga then spoke in a dangerously furious tone, "I hate them. Who wants to remember them?" Raiga then snarled, "And I also hate you!"

Raiga charged at Naruto with his swords raised to kill, however Naruto ducked Raiga's first swing and jumped away. Naruto was then shocked to see one of Raiga's swords coming out of his chest.

Raiga had quickly turned around and jumped after Naruto, he was very soon close enough to stab his sword through Naruto's heart. Raiga let out a satisfied grin, at least until Naruto suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Bunshin?" Raiga asked himself. He then landed only to feel the blade of a kunai at his throat.

"You're weaker than before, you know that?" Naruto asked from behind Raiga.

Raiga only snorted and tapped his two swords together, generating electricity and sent it to Naruto, who just jumped away in time.

"What is that?" Naruto asked

"Your death! _**Raikyuu! (Lightning Ball)**_" Raiga formed a ball of lightning in between his swords and sent it straight at Naruto's chest.

Naruto felt volt upon volt of electricity course through his body, he screamed as he was launched back and roughly landed a couple of feet away. He struggled to get back up, however Raiga had other plans.

"Your pretty stubborn gaki" Raiga said as he made another lightning ball "_**Raikyuu**_" Raiga yelled as he launched the ball at Naruto.

Naruto tensed and screamed

Lightning ball after lightning ball was fired at Naruto, who found himself unable to dodge. Naruto fell once more and Raiga smirked, figuring him to finally be dead. However Naruto just grunted and stood back up.

"That didn't hurt at all" Naruto said with a smirk of his own

"I'll be sure not to remember your smiling face" Raiga said as he fired yet another lightning ball at Naruto. Seeing Naruto fly backwards again Raiga smirked, then looked up in remembrance, "Ranmaru, where are you?"

_xxxxx_

Neji and Tenten were standing over the bag that was launched from Raiga's back with puzzled looks on their faces.

"What is this bag?" Tenten asked

"Let's find out, _**Byakugan**_" Neji looked into the bag, only to see a chakra circulatory system in it, "Inside of this..." Neji said until both his and Tenten's eyes widened slightly

The bag started emitting a red aura and a bit of it raised above the bag. To Neji's byakugan eyes a chakra circulatory system was built right on front of him.

"He's creating chakra circulatory systems!" Neji yelled. Looking into the bag again he suddenly sees two pure red eyes open and turn to look at him. Neji then looked to Naruto who was about twenty feet away and yelled out, "Naruto, use Kage Bunshin!"

Naruto, struggling to get back up shakily said, "But just now Kage Bunshin was..."

"Don't worry, Raiga's eyes are right here" Neji says back

Looking to the bag Raiga then yells out, "Ranmaru! After I defeat this guy, I'm going to save you!"

"_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_" Naruto said as over two dozen of himself appear in puffs of smoke.

Raiga looked around to see himself surrounded by Naruto's. He touched his swords together and generated lightning and through it at a group of clones while yelling, "_**Raikyuu**_"

A couple of Naruto clones dispelled and the others taunted Raiga, "What? Was all that before just luck?"

Raiga just looked up and smirked saying, "Don't mess around. All I have to do is defeat them all!"

Naruto clones charged at Raiga, but Raiga just kept shooting off lightning and destroying the clones. The rest of the clones all jumped to dive bomb Raiga, but he just raised his swords up above him and electrocuted all of the Naruto's, thus making them disperse.

_'At this rate, me chakra will...'_ Raiga thought as he stopped the lightning and looked and saw new Naruto clones around him. Raiga looked on and and thought _'The mist...The mist is fading. Damn it! I'll have to finish this now!'_ Raiga then charged a large amount of electricity and stabbed his swords into the ground.

Naruto looked on as the charged lightning destroyed some of his clones and started climbing the cliff face.

Raiga then pulled his swords out and ran to and up the lightning charged cliff.

"I won't let you get away!" The Naruto's yelled as they ran after Raiga

Raiga sheathed his swords and made a couple of hand sings as the Naruto's chased after him. "_**Ninpo: Hi no Hagane (Wings of the Sun)**_"

The ground below Raiga suddenly exploded as huge boulders came crashing down on the still running Naruto's.

"Naruto!" Neji yelled as he and Tenten heard many pops coming from the land slide.

Raiga reached the top of the cliff and looked down to see only smoke and no Naruto. "See that?" He asked himself smugly.

"Yea! I saw that!" Came an unexpected reply

Raiga turned around shocked to see Naruto in the air behind him holding a swirling mass of chakra.

From within the bag at Neji's side and from the side of the cliff came two cries of, "Stop it!"

Naruto's heard the cries and thought to himself _'I can't stop in time!'_

Naruto's _**Rasengan**_ hit Raiga in the stomach and Raiga screamed as he was forced into the air and sent flying into the distance to his death.

Naruto landed and said to himself, "I did it"

He was about to jump down the cliff to join his teammates when he suddenly heard someone scream in rage.

"How dare you!" Came the female voice

Naruto only had time to see his attackers bright silver hair before he was flooded with foreign chakra, making him scream and pass out due to the sudden and extreme pain.

_xxxxx_

Neji, Tenten and Lee's eyes widened when they suddenly hear a girl scream in rage and Naruto scream in pain.

"_**Byakugan!**_" Neji yelled as he looked up to where Naruto was. He grimaced and said to the others, "We have company, and it's not friendly"

The other two turn to see someone land in front of them. On closer inspection they could see Naruto draped over the person's shoulder.

The person grabbed Naruto and flung him onto the ground in a heap.

"What have you done to Naruto!" Lee asked angrily

The figure turned to Lee and lowered its hood, revealing that the person was a female.

She stood at about 5 foot 6 and looked to be around thirteen or fourteen years of age. She had bright silver hair and emerald green eyes. They also saw that she had a beauty mark on her left cheekbone.

"He got what he deserved for killing Raiga-sama!" the girl yelled back

"He was our enemy, it was our mission to defeat him" Neji said

"That didn't mean you had to kill him!" The girl yelled, with tears starting to form in her eyes. "He saved me...he saved my life...he took me in...kept me safe, kept me alive....And you killed him! Its only fair that your friend gets the same thing in exchange!"

"What did you do to him?" Tenten yelled out

"I poisoned him with my chakra, he's dying as we speak" The girl replied

"What?" Neji yells as he uses his Byakugan to look at Naruto's chakra. He suddenly gasps when he sees an eerie purple chakra destroying his regular blue chakra. "There's purple chakra inside of his body, and its destroying him from the inside out!"

"Is there any way to help him!" Lee exclaims

Before Neji can answer the girl interrupts, "Only I can heal him. Its my chakra inside of him, and only I can take it out"

Lee frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

"Since you want to know I'll tell you, its Tsuki Hana. Now I have a proposition for you three" Tsuki replied

"And what would that be?" Neji asked

"If you give me Ranmaru and let us leave in peace, I'll heal your friend" Tsuki said

"Ranmaru?" Tenten asked

"He's inside that bag at your side. I'll repeat myself, let me and him leave in peace and I'll take all of the poison chakra out of your friend" Tsuki replied

While the four were talking no one noticed Naruto twitching on the ground and grinding his teeth. He was currently inside his mind trying to eliminate all of the poison chakra flowing through him.

_xxx Mindscape xxx_

Naruto opened his eyes and gazed at what was all around him. He was standing in the middle of a huge flowery meadow with a forest at all ends of it. He gazed at all of the different flowers around him as well as the pond a few feet from him and smiled, remembering when his old sewer mindscape changed to this. He looked up into the sky only to see a dark purple cloud above him. He thought of how he was going to cure himself when he was torn from his thoughts when he saw a woman walking towards him.

The woman looked to be around twenty-five years of age and around 5 foot 8 inches tall. She had dark red hair that cascaded down to the small of her back and red-slitted eyes that emitted love and kindness. She wore a deep red kimono with white foxes on it, and had nine red and white-tipped tails lazily swaying behind her. On a closer inspection a collar could be seen around her neck with the kanji for "seal" on it.

The woman stopped in front of Naruto and pulled him into a hug, to which Naruto returned happily.

"Isagi-kaa-san" Naruto said as he hugged the woman tighter

"My little kit, it so good to see you again. If only it could have been under better terms" Isagi replied

Naruto looked up and asked, "Can you help me get rid of all of the poison chakra?"

Isagi smiled and hugged Naruto tighter. Bright red chakra began to emit from Isagi and it went into the sky. The bright red chakra began to fight the purple chakra back. After about five minutes the purple chakra was destroyed, and the bright blue sky returned to normal.

Isagi released the hug and said to Naruto, "There, its done. Just make sure not to let it happen again okay?"

Naruto nodded and said, "Of course Kaa-san. I'll be more careful from now on"

"Good, not its time for you to get back up. That girl...Tsuki I believed she called herself, is trying bargain her way out of fighting, using you as her bargaining chip. Spoil her fun okay?" Isagi said

Naruto grinned and started to vanish. Before he vanished completely his fading voice said, "Happily"

_xxxxx_

"So what will it be?" Tsuki asked crossing her arms

At this time Naruto began to silently get up, not alerting Tsuki.

Neji saw this but didn't react, instead he just said, "No, I don't think we will"

Tsuki's eyes widened, "What? Do you not care whether or not your teammate..." She turned to Naruto to emphasize her point, only to find him gone, "Wha..." She was unable to finish her sentence as Naruto appeared behind her and knocked her out.

Naruto caught Tsuki as she fell and held her bridal style. He walked over to the others and placed her down next to the bag.

Naruto then walked over to the others as they looked down at the bag, "So, these are Raiga's eyes huh?"

"There's a human inside" Neji said as he crouched down and opened the bag.

Naruto's eyes widened as the bag was opened. Inside the bag was a child of no more than eight years old _**(Doesn't specify age in anime)**_. The small boy had light purple hair and dark, dull red eyes, he laid there, staring into space, not giving any attention to the three looking at him.

Lee crouched down next to the boy Ranmaru and said, "The one who stopped me in my dreams was you, was it not?"

"It wasn't me" Ranmaru said, "Raiga and I are together"

"Together?" Lee asked

"Always, ever since that time..."

_xxx Flashback Jutsu xxx_

A small peaceful farming village was disturbed by the sound of screams, slashing flesh and blood spilling. A patrol of Kiri ANBU looked over the piled bodies and left to search more. An ANBU walked up to the door of a house that lied on the top of the hill, his twin swords dripping with blood. Breaking down the door with three strong kicks the man walked in to see a lump hidden under a yellow sheet.

"I know that your feigning sleep. Anyway, your going to die" The man said

The bundle moved and the man said, "Don't move" as he jammed one of his swords down, pinning the sheet to the floor.

"A spy from Kirigakure has snuck into this village. We've come to kill him, but...I've forgotten who I'm supposed to kill. That's why I'm doing this randomly" The man said

The bundle grunted and said something quietly to itself.

"What? What are you saying?" The man asked

The man used his extra sword to pull up the sheet and he saw two bright red eyes looking at him.

"That's fine, if it is you who will be killing me" The now known small boy said

"Eh? Why is it okay if it's done by me?" The man asked

"You were always crying"

"Huh? I was crying?" The man asked

"In your heart, you were always searching for the meaning of life" The boy said

The man slightly gasped as he reached up and took off his mask, showing Raiga's face.

"I was...always watching you" The boy said

"What are you?" Raiga asked

"I am the same as you. It is painful to be alive. I don't know what it means to be alive. Because of my sickness, I cannot go outside. I am despised by everyone. All I could do was spy on the world from this bed. But, If my death would let you feel even a little bit of meaning in your life, then you can have this useless life" The boy said as he got out from under the covers, showing that it was Ranmaru.

"Take it" Ranmaru said as he bowed, ready for Raiga to kill him.

Raiga's eyes widened and he pulled back his sword and said, "Are you...all alone?"

Ranmaru looked on in confusion and just nodded.

Raiga then walked up to Ranmaru and held out his arms, "Come" He said

Ranmaru held out his arms as well and Raiga picked him up by the armpits, "From now on, you and I are two in one"

Ranmaru just nodded as Raiga carried him piggyback out of the house and into the rain.

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx_

"Since that day, I have been Raiga's eyes and ears. Raiga became my arms and legs. For the first time I traveled to the outside world. There I was able to experience seeing things for the first time, and there were so many things to see. It was fun. No matter when or where, I was always with Raiga. No matter what the times were like, we were never separated, even for a single moment. We both lived for each other, as we tried to find the meaning of life. We were convinced that was the meaning of life. That's why, if that person, if Raiga died, I would no longer have the power to continue living alone. I would lose my reason to live" Ranmaru said as Naruto listened wide eyed, remembering her words to him.

_xxx Flashback Jutsu xxx_

"_Do you have a precious person?" Haku asked_

_xxxxx_

"_I want to protect my precious person. I want to make his dreams come true. That is my dream" Haku said readying a senbon._

_xxxxx_

"_There are a lot of people who misunderstand. They sympathize with the person they should kill and don't take his life. To me, that is not mercy or anything at all. Do you believe me? Just living is painful if you lose your dreams and are not needed by someone" Haku said sadly_

"_What do you want to say?" Naruto asked_

"_Zabuza-sama has no need of a weak shinobi. You stole my reason for existing" Haku said with a small, sympathetic smile_

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx_

"I no longer need to live" Ranmaru said as if stating a fact

Naruto was on the verge of tears and thought, _'Not another one, I couldn't save Haku because I was too slow. I didn't even know we were related until after the Forest of Death. I won't let the same fate happen again' _"Don't say such pathetic things"

_xxx Flashback Jutsu xxx_

"_Naruto-kun, please kill me" Haku said_

"_What?"_

"_What are you so nervous about? Now, quickly" Haku said after_

_xxx Flashback Kai xxx_

"What's stopping you?" Ranmaru asked, "With my crippled arms and legs there will be no way for me to move around. Complete your mission. Hurry, finish me off"

Naruto closed his eyes as a single tear rolled down his face _'...Haku'_

"Our mission is to remove the Kurosuki Family from this village. Without Raiga, this kid will be unable to menace the village" Neji said

"What about the girl?" Tenten asked

"We can put some chakra disruptor seals on her so she won't be a threat" Neji replied as he got up and began to walk away, "Our current problem is the Kurosuki Family, which has lost it's command. If we leave this place, there's no telling what they'll do. This is the last part of our mission"

The other three genin nodded and Naruto asked, "But, what do we do about them?"

Neji just looked back, thinking.

_xxxxx_

Ranmaru and a still unconscious Tsuki were tied up together on a wooden post, inside of a small remote hut on the mountain.

Outside of the hut were Team Gai, Lee looked at Neji and asked, "Do you think they're such evil people that we need to tie them up?"

"No, that's not it" Neji said

"At this rate, they'll die, won't they?" Tenten asked

Naruto was at the huts door and said to Ranmaru, "When our mission is over we'll come save you two!"

Naruto then slid the door closed and placed a seal over the door.

"Your even using a chakra sealing tag?" Lee asked

Turning to Lee, Tenten said, "There's no other choice, they are kind of the enemy, after all"

"I think he may have other techniques as well. This is just in case" Neji said after

Team Gai then turned and ran down the mountain, not waiting for Naruto.

Naruto stood in front of the hut's door shaking. He slowly turned around and shakily said, "I promise you, you won't be alone. I won't let you end up like Haku" He then ran down the mountain to catch up with the others.

Inside the hut Ranmaru looked down in confusion _'What did he mean?...Who is Haku?'_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

**_Authors Notes: _**_Well here's another chapter for all of you that have been patiently waiting. Its about the same length as the last one and I just couldn't help but end it here. It just seems like such a perfect chapter end._

_Yes I made it so that Naruto learned of his Uzumaki heritage AFTER Haku died because if he learned it before, then Haku would have had a better reason to live and wouldn't have died._

_If you all are wondering why I made Kyuubi's name Isagi, well its kinda short for _**_Isagiyoi_**_, meaning _**_Pure_**

_Now all of you know of the new OC. Trust me though, she only acted like that because Raiga got killed, she will act very differently in the future chapters._

_The cross-over is still sitting in my hard-drive, waiting to be used. However I promised not to post it until Panda has finished the next chapter for her story, so it might not be out for another week or more_

_I am currently re-writing **The Wish That Changed it All**, but I will not post it until I have it done up to the same point that the original is. So there will be at least 10 chapters posted for that in a row._

_But for this chapter..._

_**Read, Review, and Vote**_

_Until the next chapter_

_Tenshi Namikaze_


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